Upper Mississippi, or, Historical sketches of the mound-builders, the Indian tribes and the progress of civilization in the North-west, from A.D. 1600 to the present time

irrl

irrl

<A\\E-l)

lls

| —

^M

gum

•• I

c

UPPER MISSISSIPPI:

OR,

HISTORICAL SKETCHES

THE MOUND-BUILDERS, THE INDIAN TRIBES,

PROGRESS OF CIVILIZATION

NORTH-WEST ;

FROM A.D. 1600 TO THE PRESENT TIME.

BY GEORGE GALE.

CHIC A GO:
CLARKE AND COMPANY.

NEW rORK:

OAKLEY AND MASON.
1867.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867,

BY GEORGE GALE,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

WESTERIC
BOOK MANUFACTURING 00M

CHICAGO.

PREFACE.

THAT portion of the United States to which the following pages are
chiefly devoted, was known to the old French traders and settlers
as " upper Louisiana," and included the country above the mouth
of the Ohio river. That region is now generally called in the West
by the name of the " upper Mississippi." The inhabitants of our
Atlantic States generally spoke of this territory as "the country
north-west of the Ohio river," which name they finally abbreviated
to the " North-west; " and were understood by that name to include
all the country in the United States extending west from the foot of
Lake Erie and the Ohio river to the Rocky mountains.

This region was first explored and occupied by French traders
and Catholic missionaries from Canada, and was but little known
to the English until after the surrender of Canada in 1760, by which
the English became possessed of the French trading-posts ; but the
Pontiac war, which soon followed, implicated many of the French
traders and missionaries in the conspiracy against the English, and
led to their expulsion from the country; and the long wars which
followed soon after in Europe had the effect to lock up the early
authentic history of the North-west in the archives of the French
government. Many of these documents, however, have lately been
copied, by the permission of the French officials, and published by
the authority of the legislatures of New York and some other
States; and valuable information touching this history has thus
lately been brought to the knowlege of our inhabitants. But as this
mass of facts, together with the explorations of the early French
travelers and missionaries, are not collated and condensed so as to

IV. PREFACE.

be of value to the mass of the people, the writer has attentively
examined these volumes, with the American histories, and the laws
and documents of the United States and of the several States, and
thus collected the leading incidents in the history of the north-west;
to which he has added his own knowledge of events derived from a
residence in the country of over twenty-six years.

In handling this mass of facts, the writer has endeavored to group
together the kindred subjects for perspicuity, and by condensation
to bring them into as small a compass as practicable, leaving
mainly to the reader to make his own speculations on the motives
of the actors, and draw his own philosophical conclusions. In
this manner he has attempted to bring to light the extinct race
of people called the " Mound-Builders," locate the north-western
Indian tribes, and trace their wars with each other, and their con-
nection with the " French and Indian " wars of the colonies, and
their wars against the United States ; marking their emigrations,
and detailing the efforts of the whites to Christianize and civilize
them; follow the tides of white emigrations, noting the organiza-
tion of territorial and State governments, and other institutions;
describe the physical character of the Mississippi, and the great
lakes, and giving the progress of their navigation and commerce;
mark the building of canals, railroads, telegraphs, and other works
of internal improvement ; and give statistics of the general advance-
ment of civilization.

While the writer has not taken the space for the citation of
authorities, he has made a special effort to gather the data from the
most original and authentic sources.

It is not supposed that a work of this kind will be likely to beguile
the devotee of pleasure; but the writer believes that it will be found
acceptable and useful, not only to the student of history, but the
statesman and merchant, and a welcome companion in all private
libraries. With this hope it is presented to the public by

THE AUTHOR.
GALESVJLLE, Wisconsin, September, 1867.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
The Mound-Builders n

CHAPTER II.
The Indian Tribes, from their discovery to 1755 ... 41

CHAPTER III.

The Indian Tribes, from 1755 to the close of the Pontiac war

in 1764 . . 68

CHAPTER IV.

The Indian Tribes, from 1764 to the close of the war with

Great Britain in 1815 . . .' . . 91

CHAPTER V.
X The Catholic Missions . 114

CHAPTER VI.
^ The Protestant Missions 135

CHAPTER VII.
The Iroquois, Hurons, Delawares, and Mohegans . . . 159

VI. CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.
The Illinois Confederacy . . 172

CHAPTER IX.
The Winnebago Confederacy . .... . . . 182

CHAPTER X.
The Winnebago Confederacy (concluded) ' i . . . 194

CHAPTER XI.
Dakota, or Sioux Confederacy 224

CHAPTER XII.
»C The Sioux Massacre 245

CHAPTER XIII.
The Chippeway Confederacy • • 265

CHAPTER XIV.

The Sacs, Foxes, and Potowatomies; and a table of the popu-
lation of all the tribes in the United States in 1866 . . 291

CHAPTER XV.
The States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan . . 320

CHAPTER XVI.
The State of Wisconsin 340

CHAPTER XVII.

The States of Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, and Ne-
braska ; and territories of Dakota, Colorado, and Montana, 367

CONTENTS. Vll.

CHAPTER XVIII.
The Mississippi, and its Navigation 388

CHAPTER XIX.
The Great Lakes, and their Navigation 415

CHAPTER XX.
Canals, Railroads, Telegraph Lines, and Commerce . . 433

CONCLUSION 449

THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

CHAPTER I.

THE MOUND -BTJILDEB8.

A POET has mournfully declared that " Greece lies slum"-
bering in the tomb ;" but, from the perpetuity of her works
of art, the imagination still hears the voice of Pythagoras,
the founder of Philosophy, arguing his various speculative
theories ; Herodotus discoursing on the history of Egypt
and surrounding nations ; Xenophon detailing the exploits
of Cyrus and the " ten thousand Greeks ;" Plato preaching
of the " transmigration of souls ;" while Socrates proclaims
the soul's immortality ; and Homer sings of the beauty of
Helen, and of the'bravery of Hector and of Achilles.

But to us of the New World, there is a " Greece " that,
literally, " slumbers in the tomb." A nation or people,
which for centuries occupied a territory nearly as large as
all Europe, and had a population which probably numbered
its millions, have left the graves of their fathers and the
temples of their gods so unceremoniously, that their very
name has disappeared with them ; and we only know of
their existence by their decayed walls and tumuli, and by
their bones, exhibiting the human form, although in a far-
gone state of decay. No written language, or hieroglyphic,
tells us the thoughts of their philosophers, the philippics of
their orators, the heroic exploits of their warriors, nor of
the beauty or chastity of their Helens. The rude tempests
of ages have swept over- their country, unmindful of their
former power, while the dusky savage pursues the chase

12 . UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

and the war-path, heedless of the sanctity of the ground on
which he treads.

To this lost people the antiquarian has applied the name
of " The Mound-Builders," as descriptive of an unknown
people. It is proposed in this chapter to overhaul the relics
of the Mound-Builders, and present to the reader the facts,
with observations and deductions, relating to this interest-
ing and ancient race of people.

In calculating the extent of the territory of the Mound-
Builders, we assume that all the territory in the region
round about the clusters of mounds, was the territory of
this people, without hazarding an opinion that their territory
extended any further. They may have occupied extensive
regions of country where they did not choose to make
monuments, and there may be extensive regions where
these monuments exist, but we have as yet no trace or
record of them.

It is possible that they may have had the same customs
of the modern Indian tribes, of carrying their dead to cer-
tain general localities for interment. The Dakotas, at the
time of the visit of Captain Carver to that tribe, in 1766,
had a common burying ground a short distance above St.
Paul, Minnesota ; and at a later day, one instance, at least,
is known of a Dakota squaw carrying on her back, in a
blanket, her deceased husband from Lake Pepin to St. Paul,
a distance of nearly one hundred miles. The same custom
was prevalent two hundred years since, according to the
Jesuit missionaries, from the Chippewas of Lake Superior
to the Abenakis of the Penobscot in Maine.

So far as explorations now extend, the chief territory of
the Mound-Builders is the Mississippi Valley, including the
territory along the Atlantic and Gulf, from North Carolina
to Texas ; and along the southern shores of the great lakes,
from the St. Lawrence river, to the Fond du Lac of Lake
Superior. As these mounds have been found quite nume-
rous at the Bute Prairies, in Oregon, and along the Gila and

THE MOUND BUILDEES.

13

Colorado rivers of California, we may with safety claim
nearly the whole of the United States and her territories as
within their jurisdiction. This gave them as fine and rich
a country of its extent, as the world can produce.

The chief capital, or seat of this magnificent empire, was
probably along the valley of the Ohio river, in the State of
Ohio, judging from the elaborate extent of their works in
that region. They, like the Iroquois, probably called that
river the Ohio, or Beautiful river.

One of the first points for our consideration, in examining
into the condition of an unknown people, is to ascertain
their intellectual capacity. Fortunately for us, on this point,
Dr. Morton, of Philadelphia, has devoted considerable
attention, and, in his " Crania Americana," has given a
number of specimens of skulls taken from the mounds, to
which the writer, in the following table, has added a skull
taken from a mound in Racine, Wisconsin, as given by Mr.
Lapham :

Table of Cranial Development.

Grave
Creek.

Tenn.

Racine.

Sciota.

Longitudinal diameter .
Inter-parietal ....

6.6 in.
6.
Sdesr.

6.6 in.
5-6

r 6

6.8 in.
5-3

6.5 in.
6.

6 2

Frontal

4.. I

4.. r

Inter-mastoid arch . .
" line . .
Occipito-frontal arch
Horizontal periphery
Facial angle ....
Internal capacity . . .

78 deg.

15.2

4-4

14.

i9-5
80 deg.
80 inch.

13-8
76 deg.

T*

16.

4-5

13-8
19.8
81 deg.
90 inch.

According to Dr. Morton, the mean internal capacity of
the skulls of the different races of people are as follows :
Ethiopian, 78 cubic inches ; Malay, 81 ; American Indians,
82; Mongolians, 83; Mound-Builders, 85; and Caucasian, 87.

Dr. Morton, from his investigations, came to the conclu-
sion that there is a great similarity in the cranial develop-

14 UPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

ment of the Mound-Builders, the Mexicans, Peruvians, and
all 'the modern tribes of Indians, and that they all differ
materially from the races on the eastern continent.

As no mummy of the Mound-Builder has been found in
full, we have no positive information of the form or appear-
ance of the face and body. The crania gives a moderate
intellectual development; the teeth and jaw-bones show
only a fullness about the mouth : the pipe sculptures repre-
sent the usual varieties of countenances, with rather a full-
ness of face, and, occasionally, the Roman nose ; while the
bones of the body indicate, says Messrs. Squier and Davis,
" a rnassiveness, and seem to have been less projecting than
those pertaining to the skeletons of a later day."

From a man-shaped mound opened at Galesville, Wiscon-
sin, in 1860, by Drs. Young and Johnson, and the writer,
there were obtained pieces of the crushed skull, upper jaw
and teeth, the left side of the lower jaw and teeth, both
thigh bones entire, one shin bone, and many others of less
importance.

The thigh bones were eighteen and three-fourths inches in
length, and three and three-eighths inches in their smallest
circumference ; and the shin bone was fourteen inches in
length, and three and one-fourth inches in smallest circum-
ference. From these measurements they inferred that the
man was about five feet and ten inches in height, and
strongly built ; and from the decayed condition of some of
the teeth, perhaps from fifty to sixty years of age at the
time of his decease. His skull varied from three-sixteenths
to one-fourth inch in thickness ; his jaws were round and
full, but not distorted ; and his teeth were of the usual
number and variety of the white race. These bones are
now preserved in the museum of the " Upper Mississippi
Historical Society " at Galesville.

That the Mound-Builders were very numerous, can not
admit of a doubt, from the great extent of their territory
and the magnitude of their earth-works. In the State of

THE MOUND BUILDERS. 15

Ohio alone, it has been estimated that there are 10,000
mounds and 1,500 inclosures. At Bute Frames, in Oregon,
according to the narrative of the " United States Exploring
Expedition," there are " many thousands in number."

According to the surveys in Wisconsin, there have been
examined about 100 near Racine, 100 near Milwaukee, about
100 near Big Bend on the lower Fox river, about 100 at
Waukesha, about 100 near Fort Atkinson, 100 near Sum-
mit, 200 near Madison, 100 near Horricon, 100 near May-
ville, 100 near Bartlett's landing in Vernon county, 100 at
Prairie du Chien, 200 in La Crosse valley, and large numbers
in the region of the Blue Mounds, along the Wisconsin river,
the Fox river of Green bay, and Lake Winnebago. They
have been noticed along most of the creeks and rivers of
the State, and new investigations are continually bringing
them to light. The writer has also noticed nearly 500 in the
southern part of the county of Trempealeau, which are of
greater variety than in any other one locality in the State.
It is safe to say, that probably 10,000 mounds have already
been noticed in Wisconsin.

Mr. Lapham, in his "Antiquities of Wisconsin," page 79,
remarks that " it is believed that no works of any con-
siderable extent exist above this point (La Crosse) on the
Mississippi." As large numbers of these works exist at the
first village above La Crosse, called La Crescent, in Minne-
sota, only three miles from La Crosse, and in the county
of .Trempealeau, twenty miles above, in Wisconsin, we are
strongly cautioned against harboring the idea that all the
works of the Mound-Builders have already been discovered.
It is probable that nearly all the States and territories in-
cluded within the empire of the Mound-Builders, on full
examination, will be found to contain as many works of this
people as the States of Ohio and Wisconsin.

Many of these works are of gigantic proportions. The
mound near Miamisburgh, Montgomery county, Ohio, con-
tains 311,353 cubic feet; one at the mouth of Grave creek,

16 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Virginia, is 70 feet high and 1,000 feet in circumference ; one
at Cahokia, Illinois, is 90 feet high and over 2,000 feet in
circumference, containing over twenty million cubic feet of
earth ; while the mound at Selserstown, Mississippi, covers
an area of six acres.

The embankment inclosures are also of great extent, and
some times include four hundred acres of ground. One
near the Miami river has upwards of four miles of embank-
ments, and only incloses about one hundred acres. The
group of works at the mouth of the Sciota river has an
aggregate of at least twenty miles of embankments, but only
incloses about two hundred acres.

In estimating population from the number of earth-works
for graves, we may be justified in calculating that monu-
ments were only erected to the men who had distinguished
themselves among their fellows; for such have been the
customs of the world.

In the ^2Zneid, VI., 232, it is said of the tomb of the
Trojan Hector :

" On it ^Eneas piously heaped

A mighty mound sepulchral. The oar, the trumpet,

Arms of the man, the airy summit crowned."

The dying Anglo-Saxon poet, Beowulf, enjoins his friends
to

" Command the famous in war
To make a mound,

Bright after the funereal fire, •

Upon the nose of the promontory,
Which shall, for a memorial
To my people,
Rise high aloft
On Heonesness;
That the sea-sailors
May afterwards call it
Beowulf's barrow,
When the Brentings
Over the darkness of the floods
Shall sail afar." — Beoivulf, V. 5599.

THE MOUND BUILDERS. 17

Even our modern Indians occasionally throw together
piles of stones over some of their distinguished men ; two
such piles having been observed back of Red Wing, Minne-
sota; but probably fifty such piles do not exist in the
Mississippi valley.

We must further take under consideration the fact, that
the Mound-Builders had but few of the aids of civilization
for such works, and must have appropriated a large amount
of time to prepare their food and clothing, and to seasons
of relaxation and merriment. We must, also, make allow-
ance for the sick and indolent, the soldiers, merchants,
mechanics, priests, and officials, according to the regula-
tions of semi-barbarous nations.

From these data, may we not safely estimate that the
Mound-Builders, in the height of their glory, had as great a
population within their territory as existed in the same
territory of the white population in 1850.

By referring to the census of that year, we find accredited
to the

Mississippi valley 8,641,754

Pacific slope 117,271

Gulf 1,702,992

Great Lakes, say ........ 1)537)983

Total, . 12,000,000

It might be urged against this estimate, that we, in 1850,
had more populous cities within the territory than the
Mound-Builders ; but that excess might be balanced by the
large number of Mound-Builders between the Mississippi
and the Pacific, where, in 1850, the white population was
comparatively sparse.

Involved with the question of population, is the fact,
were the Mound-Builders an agricultural people ? On this
subject, Mr. Gallatin, of New York, in speaking of the
mound at Grave creek, remarked :

" It indicates not only a dense agricultural population, but
2

18 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

also a state of society essentially different from that of the
modern race of Indians north of the tropic.

" There is not, and there was not in the sixteenth century,
a single tribe of Indians (north of the semi-civilized nations)
between the Atlantic and the Pacific, which had means of
subsistence sufficient to enable them to apply, for such pur-
poses, the unproductive labor necessary for the work ; nor
was there any in such a social state as to compel the labor
of the people to be thus applied."

Egypt is celebrated for her pyramids ; but she was also
equally celebrated for her dense population, and the extent
of her granaries. The nomadic tribes of the old world have
never been celebrated for elaborate monuments, and have
never lived in walled cities ; while all the nations of the
East which dwelt in inclosed cities and built elaborate
works, were agriculturalists.

The fact that the Mound-Builders built such extensive
earth- works, is quite conclusive evidence that -they were not
only familiar with digging the earth, but that this was their
principal employment.

They were evidently great smokers ; and if they smoked
tobacco, they probably procured it by cultivation as did the
modern Indians, who not only cultivated tobacco, but also
corn, peas, beans, gourds, and melons, when they were first
discovered by the Europeans.

Our O-chunk-o-raws, of Wisconsin, who, in 1639, were
said to be " sedentary and very numerous," when first visited
by missionaries in 1669, and by Captain Carver in 1766,
were cultivating tobacco and the other articles heretofore
enumerated. Indeed, the Indian caches, or deposits of corn,
are said to have saved our Pilgrim Fathers from starvation
the first winter that they inhabited the bleak New England
coast.

Another evidence that the old Mound-Builders cultivated
the soil, is derived from the fact that their mound villages
are found located near or upon the richest tables of land in

THE MOUND BUILDERS. 19

the country, and near a permanent supply of good water.
A large proportion of the villages and cities of the Missis-
sippi valley now occupy the sites of ancient mound cities.

When this ancient population learned agriculture, be-
comes a very interesting question, in view of the fact that
when this country was discovered by Europeans, none of
the cereals, such as millet, rice, rye, wheat, barley and oats,
so common on the eastern continent, were known in Amer-
ica; while the corn, potatoes and tobacco of America were
equally unknown in Europe, Asia, and Africa. This fact,
alone, not only argues the great antiquity of the people in
America, but, in a measure, destroys the hypothesis that the
Mound-Builders, or the present race of Indians, were the
" lost ten tribes of Israel," the castaway Phoenicians, or the
piratical Normans.

It may not be surprising to us, that some of the customs
of either the Mound-Builders, or the modern tribes of
Indians, may be similar to some of the customs of the
eastern continent, when we take under consideration the fact
of the common origin of the human race, and the identity
of the human form and intellect ; but it would surprise us
that even a semi-educated and semi-civilized people should
relapse so completely into barbarism as to leave neither
written manuscript, hieroglyphic, nor sculptured cornice.
If the American races ever had an ancestry on the eastern
continent, it is probable that it was anterior to Confucius
of the Chinese, the Vedas of the Hindoos, the Hieroglyphics
of the Egyptians, and the Pentateuch of the Hebrews.

The Mound-Builders were evidently somewhat acquainted
with commerce, judging from the articles found in the
mounds. In Ohio we find pearls, shai'ks' teeth, and marine
shells from the Gulf and the Atlantic ocean, obsidian from
Mexico and the Rocky Mountains, native copper and silver
from Lake Superior, lead from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa
and Missouri, and syenite and greenstone from northern
Wisconsin, Alleghany and Rock^ Mountains.

20 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Their system of traveling for the purposes of commerce,
was probably the same as that of the modern Indians — by
canoes along the navigable rivers. Since this country has
become known to the whites, trading fleets of several
hundred canoes have visited Quebec from the head of Lake
Superior and from Green Bay; while war parties of the
Sioux of Mille Lac, have passed two thousand miles down
the Mississippi, and war parties of the Five Nations, of New
York, have carried their victorious arms to Mackinaw and
Lake Superior, and by way of the Ohio river to two hundred
miles west of the Mississippi.

To what extent the Mound-Builders may have trafficked
in corn, tobacco, skins, and clothing, we have no means of
judging. Nor have we any means of judging of the kind
of habitation which sheltered the family from the winter's
cold. It was evidently neither stone, brick or dirt, as no
remains of such dwellings can be found. They must have
lived either in tents or wooden tenements, all vestiges of
which have long since disappeared.

But while they paid but little attention to their houses, it
was not uncommon for them to surround what is supposed
to have been the site of their villages with an earth em-
bankment, about equivalent to our ditch fences. These
were often built with three sides only — the fourth side
being a steep bank of a creek or river. Another style
was to run a straight embankment across a promontory of
some high table land. A third style was to make double
or triple embankments, one within the other. The height
of these embankments, and their location, forbid the idea
that they were designed as fortifications ; and while they
might have been sacred inclosures, it is far more probable
that they were designed solely as fences to protect them-
selves either from their herds, or from the droves of buffalo
which inhabited the Mississippi valley. When the first
hunter was going down the Wisconsin river to settle at
Prairie du Chien, in about»1727, he was obliged to stop his

THE MOtrffD BUILDERS. 21

canoe several hours to allow a drove of buffalo to ford that
river. In some instances, in Ohio, these inclosures have
graded ways, embanked on each side, running to the water.

In the manufacture of arrow-points, stone axes, spear-
heads, and some implements of copper, the Mound-Builders
did not much excel the modern races of Indians, but they
carried the art of the sculpture of pipes to a high degree of
perfection. These pipe sculptures are imitations of most
of the common birds and animals known to the white pion-
eers of North America ; also, of the human face and head.
They displayed a fine, modest, pure taste, and close observ-
ation to natural positions, thereby indicating a people
considerably advanced in civilization — the savage tastes
delighting in monstrosities and caricatures, instead of faith-
ful copies of the original.

The Mound-Builders were evidently great smokers, and
probably believed, with the modern tribes, that tobacco was
a gift of the Great Spirit, by the use of which they might
receive inspirations from the Deity. It is a remarkable fact,
that all modern tribes of Indians of North America still
hold the pipe as a sacred emblem of peace ; and when it is
presented by one party, the fiercest battle must cease until
the council can be held, and the propositions considered and
determined.

When Father Marquette first explored the Mississippi
from Prairie du Chien to Louisiana in 1673, this sacred
emblem was at once recognized by every savage nation that
inhabited its banks or propelled the canoe along its turbid
waters. These pipes of the Mound-Builders were not made
of the friable pipe-stone of Minnesota (that locality evi-
dently then being unknown), but mostly of a very fine
porphyry of many shades of color. Some varieties are of
a greenish brown base, with fine white and black granules ;
others of a light brown base, with white, purple, and violet-
tinged specks ; but most are red, with white and purplish

22 TJPPEE MISSISSIPPI.

grains. Some very much resemble the modern Indian pipe-
stone in color, but greatly exceed it in hardness.

As the Mound-Builders evidently were not worshipers of
idols, they have left us no sculptures of idol deities, or of
the full form of man.

It is claimed for the Egyptians, that they became the
fathers of geometry from the necessity of dividing out to
the tillers of the soil the overflowed bottoms of the Nile ;
but the Mound-Builders have exhibited the most exact
geometrical skill in many of their embankments and inclos-
ures, without any such necessity. This point was tested by
actual survey, among others, of the two circle, and one
square, inclosure at Liberty township, Ross county, Ohio.
One of these circles was 800 feet in diameter, and the other
1,700 feet, while the square was exactly 1,080 feet on each
side. Pythagoras himself could not have struck those circles
nor made that square, without an actual measurement on
geometrical principles. The same scientific accuracy runs
through nearly all their earth-works. At Seal township, in
Pike county, Ohio, there is an accurate ellipse, and a circle
with a square embankment inside, the corners touching the
circle. At Brush creek, Kentucky, there is an hexagonal
inclosure precisely fifty feet on each of the six sides. The
same artistic merit, however, has not been displayed in their
animal effigies ; but their similarity may have been some-
what disfigured by the washing of rains for a thousand
years.

In fortifications for defense, the Mound-Builders have
exhibited a very respectable degree of military art. In the
first place, they have judiciously selected commanding posi-
tions, naturally strong, and easily rendered comparatively
impregnable to the ancient warlike implements. In the
second place, they never failed to include within their forti-
fications a good supply of water, and never allowed the
contingency to exist that such supply might be cut off by
an enemy. This precaution might well have been followed

THE MOUND BUILDERS. 23

by some of the officers in the great rebellion, particularly
by Colonel Mulligan, at Lexington, Missouri. In the third
place, all the accessible points were strongly fortified with
stone walls or embankments, or both ; and the gateways or
sally-ports were much stronger and more intricate than
those of modern warfare. These walled inclosures were
often of considerable extent. The one near Brownsville,
Ross county, Ohio, incloses one hundred and forty acres,
with a wall and embankment over two and a quarter miles in
length ; and " Fort Ancient," in "Warren county, Ohio, has
a wall and embankment between four and five miles long,
and in some places twenty feet high.

The Chillicotbe and Cincinnati region of Ohio seems to
have been the last great stronghold of the Mound-Builders,
as it is in this region that the most important fortifications
were made.

Wisconsin can scarcely dignify any of her old earth-
works into fortifications. The most important in this State
is Aztalan. This is a three-sided inclosure, with the open
side on the bank of the west branch of Rock river, with a
steep declivity of only fifteen feet to the water. The north
bank is 631 feet long; the west, 1,419 feet; and the south,
700 feet ; — the three banks, with that of the creek, inclosing
seventeen and two-third acres. The walls are about twenty-
two feet wide on the ground, and vary from one to five feet
in height. Allow for the action of the rains upon an earth
wall for several centuries, and we conclude that it originally
might have been from four to eight feet high, — a respect-
able fence, but a poor protection against an assaulting
enemy.

But what destroys the probability that the Aztalan works
were a fort, is the fact that it was commanded by a ridge
on the west side, and the bank on the opposite side of the
creek, — both within an arrow-shot of the inclosure.

The Mound-Builders were evidently not a warlike people,
as we find no instruments for aggressive movements, except

24 ETPPER MISSISSIPPI.

the ordinary spear, ax, knife, and arrow, which might only
have been used for hunting purposes.

It is customary to divide the different ages of Europe
into the Stone age, the Copper or Bronze age, and the Iron
age. The oldest, of course, was the Stone age, or the age
in which the ancients used only stone knives, axes, arrows,
etc. This division is said to be finely illustrated at an old
crossing or ford of a river in Ireland, where a good many
battles had been fought among the ancient natives. On
digging into the bank of the river, numerous war instru-
ments of iron were found ; on continuing down they found
a strata containing instruments of copper ; and still deeper
they reached the strata where the instruments of war were
of stone. These deposits had been covered up from time to
time by the river overflowing its banks, and leaving deposits
of sand, gravel, and clay, over the carnage of war. As the
Mound-Builders had no instruments of iron, and but few
hammered out of native copper, we conclude that they had
made but little progress in the Copper age, and had not
learned the art of smelting the ore.

The most important localities where flint rock was found,
both by the Mound-Builders and modern Indians, for the
manufacture of arrow points, spear heads, etc., in the Mis-
sissippi valley, were " Flint Ridge," in the counties of
Muskingham and Licking, Ohio, and " Flint Blufls," or
" Silver Blufls," in the western part of Jackson county,
Wisconsin. About the hills in all these localities, countless
numbers of pits, from two to fourteen feet deep, have been
dug, from which the stone has been taken for manufacture,
but all of their instruments were not made of flint. There
have been found in the mounds of Ohio and further south,
articles worked with skill from limpid crystals of quartz,
manganesian garnet, and obsidian.

Messrs. Squier and Davis, in their account of the Ancient
Monuments of Ohio, state that " The copper and silver
found in the mounds were doubtless obtained in their native

THE MOUND BUILDERS. 25

state, • and afterwards worked without the intervention of
fire. The locality from which they were derived, seems
pretty clearly indicated by the peculiar inechanico-chemical
combination existing in some specimens between the silver
and copper, which combination characterizes only the native
masses of Lake Superior."

That they may have obtained the metal at that locality is
very probable, as they^left mounds on the bafck of the On-
tonagon river, a very important locality of native copper.
Occasional specimens of native copper, however, are found
in the drift through Wisconsin and Illinois; but they are
supposed to have come from Lake Superior.

The Mound-Builders are supposed to have been very
religious, as well as very superstitious; but what their
religion or superstitions were, we do not know. It is im-
possible at this day to determine the forms of their religion ;
but it is almost certain that it was not Christian, Hebrew,
or Pagan. There is, however, a striking similarity between
their religion and that of the modern Indians, and the re-
ligion of the ancient Magi of Persia, before the days of
Zoroaster.

The Magi worshiped fire, and believed in a good and a bad
Spirit, and performed their worship on the tops of hills and
in the open air. They also worshiped the sun, and the
natural objects on the earth. After the death of Cambyses
they usurped the Government, but were overthrown, and
many of the leaders in the rebellion slain. Many of them
might have emigrated to America. But standing out
against this hypothesis, is the fact that they would prob-
ably have brought with them some of the civilization of
Persia and Media ; whereas, nothing has ever been found in
this country. Every hypothesis of an Asiatic emigration
within the last three thousand years, must answer the
question, " Where are the letters and the productions of art
of Asia at that period ?"

The first class of mounds which writers at this day have
2*

26 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

selected as of sacred origin, are the elevated squares or
truncated pyramids of earth. Several of these occur in an
inclosure at Marietta, Ohio. The largest one is one hundred
and eighty-eight feet long by one hundred and thirty-two
feet wide, and ten feet high. Midway upon each of its four
sides are graded ascents, twenty-five feet Avide and sixty
feet long, in_a right line from the mound. These graded
ascents were evidently designed to render the mounds easy
of ascent by processions of the people. Some of this class
have but one graded ascent, like the great mound at Ca-
hokie, Illinois, which is seven hundred feet long by five
hundred feet wide at the base, and ninety feet high, with a
graded ascent at one end only. The top of the mound has
a first and second table. The lowest table on the top is one
hundred and sixty feet wide, and three hundred and fifty
feet long ; while the summit or top had a flat table of two
hundred feet wide by four hundred and fifty feet long. The
whole mound is estimated as containing twenty millions
cubic feet of earth. The monks of the order of La Trappe
have for some time occupied the top of the mound with
their house and garden.

In Wisconsin, this class of mounds are much less in size,
and have only been noticed at three localities : viz., at
Aztalan, Ontonagon river, and at Trempealeau village. At
Aztalan there are three of this class, one of which is sixty
by sixty-five feet level area on the top, with an indistinct
graded way at the south-east corner. The other two are a
little less in area. The mound at Trempealeau is about
seven feet high, with a level surface at the top about
twenty-five by fifty feet, with graded ways from each of the
four sides about twenty-five feet long, with the full width
of the sides. Others may yet be discovered.

In a circular truncated mound at Portsmouth, Ohio, there
is a graded way, or ten-ace, running horizontally round the
mound, with a spiral pathway from the terrace to the sum-
mit. Near the town of Franklin, Tennessee, is a circular

THE MOUND BTJILDETCS. 29

truncated mound, fifteen feet high, with a graded way to
the ground only on one side. Several of this kind are found
in the southern States. Another remarkable mound of this
class, near Lovedale, Kentucky, is octagonal in form, each
side measuring 150 feet long, with three graded ways to the
surrounding soil. Nearly opposite the head of Blanner-
hassett's island, in Virginia, is a diamond-shaped, truncated
pyramid, surrounded by a ditch and embankment in the
form of the ellipse.

The truncated mounds are very sparse in the north, but
become more numerous as we approach the Gulf of Mexico.
At Aztalan, Marietta, and some other places, they are within
inclosures, but at dthers they are not. This class of mounds,
on examination, have yielded no evidence that they were
burial mounds, but have been regarded as the site for
temples devoted to the worship of the sun, or some other
imaginary deity; or, in the opinion of some, as the trocallis
of the city of Mexico for bloody sacrifices.

Another very important class of mounds, inclosing sup-
posed altars, are found in many parts of the west. The
altar is generally made of clay, but instances occur of stone.
They are round, elliptical, square, or parallelograms, and
from two to fifty feet across, although generally from five to
eight feet. They are built on the ground, from ten to
twenty inches high, with a concave or hollow on the top
like a bowl, and the clay is burned very hard and deep.
When found, the altar generally contains ashes, calcined
bones, fragments of pottery, Calcined stone arrow-heads,
and sometimes discs of copper. Over the whole is raised
a large mound, with alternating strata of sand and common
earth. After the altar was constructed, it is supposed that
human bodies were placed thereon and burned with an
intense heat, after which the mound is raised over the
whole. We have no means of judging whether the human
bodies were placed on the altar when alive or dead, but
may we not infer that the cavity in the altar was to hold

30 UPPEB MISSISSIPPI.

the blood, while the calcined arrow-heads were originally
the arrows shot to take the life of the victims V In
a mound of this class, at Mound City, Ohio, were found,
intermixed with much ashes, nearly 200 pipes carved in
stone, many pearls and shell beads, numerous discs, tubes,
etc., of copper, and a number of ornaments of copper,
covered with silver. The pipes were much broken, and
portions of the copper melted with the intense heat.

Another mound in Mound City, yielded nothing but a
large number of plates of mica. Another yielded bones
with ten bracelets, which had evidently been worn as orna-
ments on the arms. Another mound had no regular altar,
but contained more than 2,000 discs of horn-stone or flint,
each about six inches long, four wide, and about three-
fourths of an inch thick. They were evidently buried, either
to secrete them from enemies, or as a magazine for future
use, or for superstitious purposes ; or possibly to improve
their quality with a view of manufacturing them into spear
and arrow-heads. Some of these altars show signs of hav-
ing been used for a considerable period before they were
covered with earth.

That these mounds were not always burial places, is
evident from the fact that many of them contain no signs
of human bones. The Mexicans are said to have sought
for burial places near some altar, or temple, or sacred place
where sacrifices were made. Among them, burial by fire
was often practiced.

In Wisconsin, the writer is not advised that any of the
altars formed like those of Ohio have yet been found, but
burnt clay and charred human bones are common. Mr.
Lapham opened a mound at Aztalan that indicated a series
of burnings of clay and bones, as thougli it had been the
practice to cover each burning with a thin strata of earth,
and had so continued until the mound reached its present
height.

Another class of mounds, which is by far the most

THE MOUND BUILDERS. 31

immerons in the United States and territories, is the conical
mounds. These occur, not only within and about the inclos-
ures of Ohio and other States of the Mississippi valley, but
in many places, including Minnesota and Oregon, where
inclosures are not common. They are generally from eight
to fifty feet in diameter, and from one to twenty feet in
height, and occasionally of much larger dimensions. Some
of these conical mounds are found to inclose altars, but are
regarded generally as simple burial mounds.

Many of these contain ashes, coals, and charred bones,
which indicate that it was a common practice to burn the
bodies on the surface of the ground without the erection of
an altar. Others, and by far the greater number, contain
either bones in a far-gone state of decay, or more generally
the ashy appearance or deposit of bones already decayed.
These conical mounds occasionally contain arrow and spear
heads, and pottery, but more generally are entirely destitute
of articles manufactured. The state of preservation of the
bones in the mounds, depends mainly on the amount of clay
used in the construction of the mounds — a compact clay
preserving them for a long period, while in a loose, porous
soil, they decay in a short time.

Another very important class of mounds are called " ani-
mal mounds," or " effigies of animals," the chief locality of
which, according to present discoveries, is Wisconsin, al-
though a few of marked character have been, noticed in
Ohio and Michigan.

One of the most important of this class in Ohio, is " The
Serpent," in Adams county. It is on a point of a ridge at
" Three Forks," on Brush creek, 150 feet above the creek.
" The Serpent's " head is near the point of the ridge, and
extends in graceful undulations and curves along the summit
of the ridge for 700 feet, terminating with a triple coil of
the tail, the extreme length being about 1,000 feet. The
mouth is open, evidently attempting to swallow an egg, or
oval figure, within its distended jaws. The egg, or oval

32 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

figure, is an embankment four feet high, 160 feet long, and
eighty feet in its greatest diameter. The embankment
representing the serpent is five feet high and thirty feet
wide at its base, near the center, and diminishes a trifle
towards its head and tail.

" The Serpent " entered into the religious superstitious
of nearly all the old nations of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
The Vedas of the Hindoo represents that the earth is
placed on an enormous snake with 100 heads, arid that
when the snake shakes one of its heads it produces an earth-
quake. The great temple of Abury, in England, was built
in the form of a serpent by the ancient Celts. The snake
also entered into the religious ceremonies of the Mexicans.
Even the modern Wiunebagoes and Dakotas apply to the
snake the word Wakon, or Spirit, and hold it sacred.

" The Alligator," in Licking county, Ohio, near Granville,
is another interesting efligy. Its extreme length is two
hundred and fifty feet ; the breadth of the body, forty feet ;
the length of its legs, each, thirty-six feet ; and its height
from four to six feet. At the right of the effigy is a circular
elevation, covered with stones much burned, with a graded
way ten feet wide, from the body to the supposed altar of
stones. Excavations have been made in the " Alligator,"
but nothing has been discovered, except stones and a fine
clay used in building the effigy. The ancient Egyptians
held the alligator as sacred.

The effigies of men, animals, and inanimate things, are
very numerous throughout Wisconsin. The men mounds
are sometimes with legs, but more numerously without
them.

Of the former class, effigies have been noticed at Mil-
waukee, Waukesha, Ripley lake, Sec. 26 T. 12 R. 16 E,
Utica, Sec. 35 T. 9 R. 4, One-Mile creek (Adams county,)
Mauston, and at Galesville. Effigies of men with legs occur
at Sec. 19 T. 9 R. 6 E., Honey Creek mills, Sec. 9 T. 16
R. 2 W., seven miles E., Blue mounds, Muscoda, and Sec.

THE MOUND BUILDERS. 33

35 T. 9 R. 1 W. These latter mounds are represented with
legs down about to the knees.

Mr. Win. H. Canfield, near Baraboo, in Sank county,
Wisconsin, has surveyed a mound at that place of an effigy
of a full-length man, the first one yet discovered. The
whole figure is two hundred and fourteen feet in length ;
the head thirty feet long, the body one hundred, and the
legs eighty-four. The top of the head is nearly crescent
shaped, giving the effigy a ghostly and unnatural appear-
ance. Some of the other effigies represent the head as split
open on top, each half of which has fallen part way to the
shoulders. All of these effigies of men are evidently de-
signed to represent some spiritual existences, taught by their
religious superstitions.

Another class of mounds ai'e the effigies of birds. These
are mainly distinguished from the man-shaped mounds by
the representation of a bill to the head ; the body and wings
corresponding with the body and arms of the man. These
bird-shaped mounds occur at Waukesha, Honey creek, Sec.
3 T. 10 R. 7 E., Sec. 5 T. 10 R. 7 E., Sec. 6 T. 8 R. 5 W.,
English Prairie, in Iowa county, and Sec. 16 T. 8 R. 1 W.
They are only about as numerous as the man-shaped mounds.
There is no attempt in these effigies to represent any par-
ticular species of the bird that we can recognize, although
they differ in their outlines, and in the imagination of the
Mound-Builders they may have represented different birds.

Another quite numerous class are what Mr. Laphani de-
nominates the " Turtle Mounds," which occur very numer-
ously in the south-eastern part of Wisconsin. One figured
by him at Waukesha has an extreme length of one hundred
and seventy -six feet, of Avhich one hundred and thirty feet
belongs to the tail If turtles in the days of the Mound-
Builders had tails of this capacity, they must have wonder-
fully deteriorated in their tailships at the present day. It
might have been intended to represent the lizard, but it
comes much nearer the tadpole or polliwog, at that state of
3

34 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

its existence when it begins to develop the feet. The
peculiar development of the tadpole might well have at-
tracted the attention of these superstitious people.

Well delineated turtles of the modern day are repre-
sented by mounds south-west of Galesville, in which the
tail is represented as not much larger than the head and
neck. These turtle mounds are about thirty-six feet long
from the end of the nose to the end of the tail, and twenty-
seven feet between the fore feet.

Near these turtle mounds is an effigy of a frog, nine yards
long; nine yards between the ends of the fore feet, and
eleven yards between the ends of the hind feet. He was
probably of the bull-frog species. But the animal effigies
are too numerous for the writer's limits to describe, and he
will only remark, that at Galesville there are effigies of man,
and of the frog, turtle, deer, bear, and perhaps the buffalo,
the most numerous of which are the deer. Near Honey
creek, in Sec. 19 T. 9 R. 6, are the bear and buffalo; at
Mayville, the fox and beaver; at Horricon, the otter; at
Ripley lake, the serpent. At these places and many others
there are a great variety of effigies, probably intended to
represent the different kinds of animals known to the
Mound-Builders ; many of which, however, may have been
entirely imaginary, but among which the worm is con-
spicuous.

What object the Mound-Builders had in the laborious
erection of these numerous effigies, of course we can only
conjecture. Some have supposed that they were intended
to represent the totem or town to which the deceased be-
longed, since many of the tribes of the present day use the
pictures of animals to represent the tribe, as the English use
the coat of arms to represent the family. This is based on
two suppositions, entirely without evidence : first, that the
Mound-Builders used totems, like the modern Indians ; and,
secondly, that, unlike the modern Indians, they raised
mounds to represent their totems.

THE MOUND BUILDERS. 35

The second suggestion is, that they had names like the
modern Indians ; as, Black Hawk, White Bear, Buffalo,
etc., and that their burial mounds were in imitation of the
animal whose name they bore. But those suggestions are
not only based on two suppositions, like the previous, with-
out evidence, but ignore the fact that many modern Indians
have names that can not be represented by an animal;
such as, Sleepy Eyes, WJiirling Thunder, IIole-in-the-Day,
Clear Sky, Screamer, etc. According to that, such chiefs
must go without honor to the next world ; or, like the
poisoned sailor, he must be buried without a funeral, be-
cause the church had no prayers for such a case of death.

May we not with far more probability infer, that these
animal effigies were connected with the religious supersti-
tions of the race, and that, as most heathen nations believe
in the transmigration of souls to animals, these effigies may
have been designed to perpetuate the name of the animal
that the priest or relatives had directed the departed soul to
•enter. The doctrine of the transmigration of souls was,
among many others, taught by Pythagoras and Plato, and
has been illustrated by the poet Dryden in the following ;

" In life's next scene of transmigration be,
Some bear or lion is reserved for thee."

Thus, the reader's attention has been called to some of
the principal facts connected with the life and death of the
Mound-Builders ; but volumes will not exhaust the subject,
nor generations perfect their history. Much will yet be
learned, as new discoveries are made, and the mounds fur-
ther examined in the progress of civilization.

By evidence satisfactory to the human mind, we know
that they lived in great numbers throughout a vast region,
labored, sported, loved, were given in marriage, begat
children, nurtured them with parental care, worshiped, and
died, and that their friends built monuments to their
memory.

36 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

To the infidel, alas ! this is all there is of man, but to the
Christian there yet remains the Upper Sanctuary, the glories
of which are not modified by the sorrows of humanity, and
where the intellectual soul will grow in knowledge, as the
child does in stature.

The origin of the Mound-Builders can only be the subject
of speculation. Dr. Morton says, " That the study of physi-
cal conformation alone, excludes every branch of the Cau-
casian race from any obvious participation in the peopling
of this continent;" but Dr. Morton goes farther, and de-
clares, " that the organic characters of the people them-
selves, through all the endless ramifications of tribes or
nations, prove them to belong to one and the same race, and
that this race is distinct from all others." This conclusion
is reached by the doctor in the examination of the skulls
from different parts of the world, and is very sweeping,
when we take under consideration the fact that no two skulls
ever examined, agreed with each other in every particular.

But the arguments of Dr. Morton at least tend to show
the great antiquity of the American race ; and with the fact
that neither the Mound-Builders nor the present Indian race
have had the religious ceremonies of any of the Asiatics,
Europeans, or Africans, to our knowledge, nor an acquaint-
ance with any written language, we may well infer that they
did not have their origin from the eastern continent since the
knowledge of letters, or since the present religious cere-
monies were established. Another similar argument exists
in the want of identity of their language with that of any of
the known languages of the eastern continent.

The age of trees growing on the mounds has been ex-
amined, and nearly 1,000 years into antiquity have been
reached ; but the mounds, or at least some of them, were
then standing.

The time at which the Mound-Builders abandoned this
country, or were exterminated by war, is entirely lost, and
gone beyond our reach.

THE MOUND BUILDERS. 37 '

It is conceded that the modern Indian tribes have no tra-
ditions of the Mound-Builders or of the mounds. It is true
that David Cusie, an educated Tuscarora, in 1825, compiled
the traditions of the Iroquois, or six nations, in which he
claimed that the Iroquois had fought an ancient people,
probably the Mound-Builders, for several hundred years,
and finally exterminated them. Mr. Galletin, however, not
only pronounces the tradition fabulous, but a closer investi-
gation into the tradition proves that it more probably relates
to the Kah-Kwah, or Eries, which they conquered in 1655.

The Delawares had also, in 1819, come in for ancient
fame ; and as related to Mr. Heckewelder, their Moravian
missionary, had a tradition claiming that when the Dela-
wares removed east of the Mississippi, they found a people
who called themselves the Attegewi, and who had fortifica-
tions which were of gigantic height. The Delawares called
to their aid the Iroquois, who, they said, then lived on the
Mississippi, and after a long war, conquered and drove the
Allegewi down the Mississippi. General Cass, who was
personally acquainted with the missionary, at once classed
the tradition as a humbug, got up to excite the gullibility of
their missionary, a business in which the Indians are known
to be adepts. In this class may be placed the tradition by
" De-coo-dah," of the Winnebagoes, as related by Mr.
William Pidgeon.

This tradition is, in effect, denied by the Iroquois, as they
claim that they wrere created in New York, and never lived
on the Mississippi, and have no tradition of any league with
the Delawares. The latter tribe may have assisted the
Iroquois in driving the Akansea down the Mississippi about
1661.

The traditions of the Aztecs, the ancient people of Mexico,
are supposed to give some light on the question of " What
became of the Mound-Builders?" By those traditions' they
claim, that about 1160, they left their town in the north,
called Aztalan, or place near the large water, and journeyed

38 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

scmth for one hundred and sixty-five years, when they
descried " an eagle grasping in its claws a writhing ser-
pent, and resting on a cactus which sprung from a rock in
the Lake Tescoco." " This had been designated by the
Aztec oracles as the spot where the tribe should settle."
This was the foundation of the city of Mexico.

Mr. Humboldt, who examined critically the traditions of
the Mexicans, has declared that none of their traditions,
running back 100 years before their conquest by the Spanish
in 1520, are entitled to serious consideration. The same
may be said of Indian traditions generally. Mr. Bartlett,
who was at the head of the United States boundary com-
mission, and gave much attention to the subject, says : "I
have been unable to learn from what source the prevailing
idea has arisen, of the migration of the Aztecs from the
north into the valley of Mexico. The traditions which gave
rise to this notion are extremely vague, and were not seri-
ously entertained until Torquemada, Borturini, and Clavi-
gero, gave them currency. But they must now give way to
the more reliable results of linguistic comparison. No
analogy has yet been traced between the language of the
old Mexicans and any tribe at the north in the district from
which they are supposed to have come ; nor in any relics,
ornaments, or works of art, do we observe a resemblance
between them."

We notice among the speculations of infidel minds, a
great readiness to turn these doubtful questions into positive
arguments against the scriptural origin of mankind ; but
they appear to ignore the fact that, throughout the whole
world, man has the same general form of body, organs of
speech, and identity of mind, and however much either may
be modified by education or locality, no nation has been
found lacking any one of these prerequisites of man. While
the African may have a head, and the Esquimaux a body,
below the average size, we should remember that as great a
difference often occurs in a single family ; and he who argues

THE MOUND BUILDERS. 39

that man originated from the monkey, only thereby makes
a monkey of himself. The identity of the present Indians
of the north-west with the inhabitants of eastern Asia, has
been strongly urged to the writer by an eminent Presbyte-
rian divine who has spent several years as a missionary in
China, and among the Chinese in California.

Independent of tradition or of language, there is a strong
impression on the minds of antiquarian travelers, of the
identity of the Mexicans with the Mound-Builders, created
by the supposed similarity of their customs and worship ;
and this impression is increased by the belief that the con-
quering nations were* from the north-west, and that the
fugitives naturally would have retreated south. Upon that
hypothesis, it is a strong supposition that the Mobilian race
along the Gulf of Mexico were the conquerors; and, as they
must have incorporated some of the Mound-Builders into
their nations, it might be expected that they would retain
some of their civilization. This would, in part, account for
a higher civilization, which in fact did exist in that warlike
race, when visited by De Soto in 1540. But a doubt is raised
to the whole of that hypothesis, as the center of the Mound-
Builders' territory was held by the Winnebago Confederacy
when first known to the whites, which Confederacy extended
from Lake Superior to Arkansas river, and occupied the
lower Ohio and Missouri rivers, and the territory west nearly
to New Mexico ; and if the Mobilians conquered the Mound-
Builders, they were in turn driven south by the Winnebago
Confederacy. In looking further, we find the latter Confed-
eracy again being pressed south by the Dakotas, who
extended from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains.
Beyond all these, come the great Algonquin nations, ex-
tending from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, and
north to the frozen ocean, including the Esquimaux, and
were probably as ancient a people on the continent as the
Mound-Builders themselves. This antiquity of the Algon-
quin nations not only make them cotemporary with the

40 UPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

Mound-Builders, but will account for the non-discovery of
mounds in the north, except along the south edge of their
territory.

But there is even a possibility that the Mound-Builders
were converted to a new religion, as was the Pagan Roman
Empire in the days of Constantine, and thereby not only
abandoned their superstitions of building tumuli, but be-
came more nomadic and warlike. At some time a similar
change must have occurred on the eastern continent, for
they, too, have their tumuli at places, from England to the
Indian ocean ; but why the custom was abandoned, belongs
to the unlettered ages of their people. Had there been a
change of religion, a period of less than 1,000 years would
probably have erased from their traditions every trace of
the old superstition. But these speculations are all unsatis-
factory, and we can only conclude that Deity filled, with
that populous nation, some important niche in the great
temple of humanity.

CHAPTER II.

TELE INDIAN TKIBES, FROM THEIR DISCOVERY TO 1755.

PASSING from the Mound-Builders across an indefinite
period, variously estimated at from 500 to 2,000 years, to
the time when America bec'ame known to the Europeans,
we find the whole continent peopled with numerous tribes,
speaking different languages, but identical in complexion
and physical construction, although evidently less civilized,
and more warlike than their predecessors, the Mound-
Builders.

The uniformity in the physical appearance of the present
race will convey the idea that they are the legitimate des-
cendants of the Mound-Builders; but this hypothesis is
nearly destroyed by the radical difference in many of the
tribal languages, and the total absence of the custom of

O O 7

building mounds. Although less civilized than the Mound-
Builders, yet they were not totally deficient in this particular,
but still understood the art of building fortifications, the
cultivation of corn, tobacco, beans, peas and pumpkins, and
the construction of stone knives, axes, arrow and spear-
heads, and bows, arrows and spears ; and were experts in
hunting, fishing, and war. They even possessed considera-
ble judgment in medicine, government, and hieroglyphical
writing. Indeed, they were but little below the Celts of
the British islands at the time of the invasion by Julius
Caesar, and nearly resembled, in their warlike customs, par-
ticularly in taking scalps, the ancient Scythians of European
3*

42 UPPER MISSISSIPPI

Turkey. Following the explorations from Columbus, and
including the first settlements of the Atlantic coast in No? ih
America, by the French, English, Dutch and Spanish, we
gather the data that at that period the people of the region
of country north of the Gulf of Mexico and east of the
Rocky Mountains, may be classified by their languages
nearly as follows :

1. The Algonquin, or Ojibwa Confederacy, occupied all
the country to the frozen regions north of a line commenc-
ing near Cape Fear on the Atlantic, thence extending
westerly to the mouth of the Illinois river, thence along that
river, and by way of Lake Michigan, Falls of St. Mary,
Lake Superior, and rivers and portages to the Lake of the
Woods, and thence westerly to the Rocky mountains.

2. The Mobilian, or Cherokee Confederacy, occupying
the country south of the line running westerly from Cape
Fear to the north line of Tennessee, thence west to the
Mississippi, thence by the Mississippi, Arkansas and Cana-
dian rivers, to the Rocky mountains.

3. The O-chunk-o-raw, or Winnebago Confederacy, ex-
tending from Lake Superior to the Arkansas river, including
the Wisconsin river and lower Ohio, and extending west to
the Rocky mountains.

4. The Dakota, or Sioux Confederacy, extending west to
the Rocky mountains from a line running from Kewenaw
bay to the north-eastern corner of the present State of
Iowa.

These lines between the different Confederacies must be
understood as only approximating to correctness, as Indian
boundaries were never well defined.

Nearly in this position, the Europeans found the territory
of the Mound-Builders east of the Rocky mountains divided
among four great Confederacies, all speaking radically dif-
ferent languages, but otherwise differing but little in man-
ners, customs, religion, complexion, or physical construction ;
and all, like the Mound-Builders, but unlike the Europeans,

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 43

used the pipe and tobacco. From whence came these
Aborigines, has been the constant speculation of our ances-
tors in America ; but every theory has failed before the
light of investigation, and we only know that they have
long resided in this country, and have a slight resemblance
to the north-eastern Asiatics.

These confederacies were not generally confederacies of
government, for they were divided up into a multitude of
independent bands or tribes, often with no traditions of re-
lationship, and in open war with each other, and even un-
able to speak each other's dialects of the same language.
As the Indians had no written language, these dialects were
rapidly formed in independent bands, and the obscurity of
the dialect was in the ratio of the time that any particular
band had been separated from the parent tribe. The same
change, but with far less rapidity, exists in written languages,
and the Greek of Athens and the Latin of Rome to-day,
would have been barbarian to Demosthenes and Cicero.

The prominent tribes of the Algonquin Confederacy,
which became distinguished in the early annals of New
York, New England, and Canada, were the Mohegans of
Massachusetts, Abenakis of Maine, Iroquois of New York,
Delawares of Pennsylvania, Algonquins of Quebec, Hurons
from Montreal to Lake Huron, Ottawas of the Georgian
bay, Mascotens of Detroit, Miamies of the Wabash, Sacs
and Foxes and Pottowatomies of Saginaw bay and Lake
Michigan, Chippeways of the Falls of St. Mary, and Chris-
tinaux of Hudson's bay.

When the navigator, Samuel Champlain, founded Quebec
in 1608, he ascertained that the Algonquin tribe at Quebec
was at war with the tribes of New York ; and believing that
it was necessary to live in harmony with his immediate
neighbors, entered into an alliance with them, offensive and
defensive. Pursuant to such alliance, he led a war party
of the Algonquins against the Iroquois in July, 1809, and on
the 30th of the same month attacked a war party of 200

44 UPPEIi MISSISSIPPI.

Iroquois at a cape near Ticonderoga, on the west side of
Lake Champlain, and put them to flight. The honors gained
in this victory with fire-arms over bows and arrows, was of
little account ; but in the progress of civilization it marked
an important period, as the campaign discovered a new
lake, to which Champlain attached his own name, and inau-
gurated a war that was only permanently terminated by the
surrender of Canada to the English, one hundred and fifty-
one years afterwards. The war which Champlain volunta-
rily assumed iii 1609, became a necessity the following year,
for a considerable war party of the Iroquois invaded
Canada, seeking revenge for their misfortunes of the pre-
vious year.

Champlain, by presents, and the terror produced by his
fire-arms, succeeded in winning over to the side of the
Algonquins, the Hurons, who were kindred of the Iroquois,
and engaged them to join him in the war against their
brethren. Thus strengthened, he attacked the war party of
the Iroquois, who had hastily fortified themselves on the St.
Johns river, and totally defeated them, even before the
arrival of his 200 Huron allies.

This defeat, together with the defection of the Hurons,
seems to have struck the Iroquois with terror, and it was
probably under these circumstances that the five Iroquois
bands formed themselves into a confederacy, oifensive and
defensive, which made them 'SO powerful in subsequent
years. They were also greatly exasperated at the Hurons,
who had thus voluntarily abandoned them, and had gone
over to their enemies, and ever afterwards held against them
the spirit of revenge. Profiting by their experience, the
Iroquois fortified their villages against lire-arms, and • pre-
pared for the war with the judgment of more civilized
nations. The northern allies, impatient for new victories,
and having been attacked by war parties north of Lake
Ontario, induced Champlain to head another war party in
1615. This party was organized at the east end of the

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 45

Georgian bay, which point Champlaiu reached by way of
the Ottawa river and Lake Nipissing, on the first day of
August. On the first day of September the allied forces
started on their expedition. They passed through Lake
Simcoe, made a portage to the head waters of the Trent
river, which stream they passed down, and discovered Lake
Ontario. This country was found destitute of inhabitants,
they having lately been driven back by war parties of the
Iroquois. Crossing at the foot of Lake Ontario, Champlain
hid his canoes, and journeyed by laud five days in a south-
erly direction, and on the 10th of October reached the
Iroquois fort, near a considerable lake, supposed to be
Cayuga. This fort the allied forces besieged until the 16th
of the same month, when Champlain, having been twice
wounded, and many of his allies killed and wounded, the
Indians refused to continue the siege, and the allies retreated.
Champlain returned to the Georgian bay, where he was
forced to remain until spring, on account of the ice, and
only reached Quebec the following year, apparently dis-
gusted with his Indian war.

In 1629 the English took possession of Quebec, and
carried Champlain to England; and for three years the
Indians were left free from French intrigue to settle their
own difficulties. The Iroquois, taking advantage of the
absence of their new French enemies, mustered their war-
riors, and inarched into the Huron country. The Hurons
gathered together their allies, and fought a great battle,
some where between Lakes Ontario and Huron, and were
defeated. They then sued for peace, which was granted,
and the Hurons and Iroquois were again united and the
tomahawk buried ; and when the French returned to Canada
in 1632, the Hurons and Algonquins positively refused to
renew the war, or permit the Jesuit priests to establish a
mission on Lake Huron. The French brought to bear
upon the untutored savages all their arts in diplomacy, and

46 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

in 1634 finally obtained leave for their priests to renew the
mission to Lake Huron.

The Iroquois continued to regard the French as their
enemies, and a kind of semi-war existed for some years,
until finally, in 1648, the pent-up volcano broke forth, and
the powerful war parties of the Iroquois, fully armed with
fire-arms obtained from the Dutch, swept the whole Huron
country, and both shores of Lake Huron. The allied tribes,
in great numbers, rallied and fortified the Island of Mack-
inaw, where, in about .1652, they were again attacked by
about 3,000 Iroquois warriors, and totally defeated. A
remnant of the Ottawas and Chippeways took shelter in the
dark pine forests of Lake Superior, while the Sacs and
Foxes, and the Maseotens and Miamies, and their kindred
the Kickapoos, planted themselves on the territory of the
Winnebagoes, along the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, and a
fragment of the Hurons passed across the State of Wiscon-
sin, and obtained a resting place on the Iowa river, on the
borders of the territory of the Dakotas. A small number of
the Christian Hurons, with their surviving priests, escaped
their enemies, and formed a village below Quebec. The
larger portion of the Huron nation were either killed or
taken prisoners and adopted into the families of the Iroquois,
where they were afterwards recognized by their Catholic
priests.

The Erie, or Cat bands of the Huron-Iroquois nation,
living along both shores of the Niagara river, and the south-
eastern shore of Lake Erie, called by the Iroquois the Kah-
JZwah, positively refused to join their brethren in that fra-
tricidal war, and continued neutral ; but when the Hurons
had finally been expelled the country, the neutrals were
charged by the Iroquois with giving protection to their
enemies, and failing to render satisfaction, they too were
attacked, and after a severe struggle of three years, were,
in the fall of 1655, finally defeated, and shared the same fate
as their brothers the Hurons, except no remnants of the

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 49

tribe have ever since been heard of, that were not 'prisoners
in the hands of their captors. The French are supposed to
have originated this war, as their priests urged its vigorous
prosecution early in 1655.

Suggestions have been made by some authors that the
Shawnees, who were afterwards driven from the Ohio to
Tennessee, might have been a remnant of the Eries ; but
that hypothesis is destroyed by the fact that the Shawnees
spoke a dialect of the Miami-Algonquin, while the Eries
spoke the dialect of the Huron-Iroquois.

It is not, however, probable that a nation numbering in
1625 nearly 15,000, were so nearly annihilated; and we
may reasonably suppose that hundreds of them fled to
friendly tribes in the west, where they became merged and
lost sight of in a single generation. The same suggestion
might be made with force with reference to the Hurons,
who were also very numerous before the war.

After the defeat of the Eries, war parties of the Iroquois
sought their old enemies in their hiding places in Wiscon-
sin, and in 1660, one of these parties became involved in
difficulties with the Indians of Illinois, and a furious war
followed ; and in the short period of two or three years, by
the potency of fire-arms obtained from the Dutch, the fierce
Iroquois drove a bleeding remnant of the Shawnees of
Northern Kentucky and Southern Ohio back upon the Ten-
nessee river; the tall Arkansea, of the lower Ohio valley,
down the Mississippi to Arkansas river ; the powerful Illi-
nois, west of the Mississippi ; and the Mascotens, Kickapoo
and Miamies, to the Wisconsin river. This fierce war was
short, as the Iroquois in the mean time became involved,
probably by French intrigue, in a war with their powerful
neighbors, the Mohegans and Delawares. This latter war
commenced probably about 1664, and the French claimed
in 1680 that the Iroquois had nearly annihilated the Andas-
tognes and Mohegans. We know that the Delawares, in
16 75, were driven by the Iroquois south upon the lower
4'

50 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Potomac, where they committed some depredations upon
the white settlers in Maryland and Virginia, and that six of
their chiefs visited Captain Washington, the great-grand-
father of General Washington, who was captain in the
Militia of Virginia, to settle the difficulties, and Captain
Washington murdered the whole of them ; whereupon the
Governor of Virginia reprimanded him, by saying that he
would not have murdered them, under the circumstances,
if " they had killed his own father and mother." This act
of barbarity of Captain Washington was revenged by the
Indians, when the Militia of Maryland and Virginia attacked
the Delawares, and drove them back upon the Iroquois.
The Delawares then sued for and negotiated a peace with
their northern conquerors. By the traditions of both tribes,
it is said that, at the conclusion of a peace between them,
after a long war, which was probably the aforesaid treaty,
the Iroquois prescribed as the terms of the peace, that the
Delawares should take the condition of squaws, and not go
to war without the consent of their conquerors, which the
latter tribe agreed to, and were only restored to the condi-
tion of warriors by Colonel Johnson, the Indian agent in
New York, in 1756.

The bold and Avarlike Iroquois, however, did not neglect
their old enemies the French in the midst of their compli-
cated warfare, but repeatedly sent their war parties to
harrass them, and compelled them to keep constantly forti-
fied. A record of about 1651 said: "Hardly do those
savages let us pass a day without alarms. They are ever
at our skirts ; no month passes that our bills of mortality do
not show, in lines of blood, indications of the deadly nature
of their inroads." The Jesuit delations of 1653, speaking
on this subject, said : " The war with the Iroquois has
dried up all sources of prosperity. . . . Crowds of
Hurons no longer descend from their country with furs for,
trade. The Algonquin country is dispeopled ; and the na-

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 51

tions beyond it are retiring further away still, fearing the
musketry of the Iroquois."

In these exigencies, the Canadians asked France for help,
and in 1653 received a considerable reinforcement of picked
colonists, under the prestige of which they made a treaty of
peace with the four western bands of the Iroquois the fol-
lowing year, but the Mohawks refused to join. Under this
treaty, in 1656, the French sent Captain Dupuis Avith fifty
men, and established a fort among the Onondagas, but this
excited the alarm of this band. Forewarned of their danger
by a dying Indian, the French fled from the country. The
Mohawks followed with four hundred warriors, but failed to
overtake the fugitives. They, however., passed beyond
Quebec, and captured ninety of the Hurons on the Island
of Orleans. Wars arid alarms followed, and in the fall of
1658 the Governor of Canada represented to France that if
" succor were not accorded, Canada would be irretrievably
lost to France," and demanded 3,000 regular troops or six
hundred colonists.

During this period the French repeatedly attempted to
break up the Iroquois Confederacy, by negotiating a peace
with the separate bands, and involve them in a new civil
war, but all these efforts were defeated by the confederacy.
In 1662 the Governor again applied to France for help, and
obtained 400 soldiers. The following year 165 colonists
were received. The whole subject finally came under dis-
cussion by the French ministry, and in May, 1664, the gov-
ernment of Canada was turned over to the " West India
Company " by a royal edict, and Marquis de Tracy ap-
pointed viceroy over all New France. He landed at Quebec
in June of the following year, with four companies of
troops ; and twenty companies more, with many colonists,
followed by December. He immediately set himself to
fortifying the country, and during the following winter sent
an army into the Mohawk country, which found the Indian
country nearly deserted, but succeeded in burning the Indian

52 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

cabins and corn. With this display of force, and by nego-
tiations, a peace was concluded in the summer of 1666 with
the whole Iroquois Confederacy, which lasted nearly eight-
een years, and was hailed with great joy by the whole of
New France.

We have thus seen that the inauguration of the plan to
disregard the rights of the Indians, and make them sub-
servient to the interests of the whites, by the French of
Canada, nearly ruined their early attempts to establish an
empire in the new world, and added new proof that the
great law of justice could not be trifled with, even against
the American " savages ;" but it took more than a century
for our ancestors to become convinced of its truth. Mas-
sachusetts, however, learned it in King Phillip's war ; and
the Dutch of New Amsterdam learned it after the massacres
of the Indians by the orders of Director Keift ; while the
pious Quakers of Pennsylvania proved the truth of the
proposition, by practicing " good faith and good will " to
the warlike Delawares, for not a drop of Quaker blood was
ever shed by that nation.

Soon after the close of the Iroquois war in the north-west,
the Knisteneux, or Christenaux, a powerful Algonquin na-
tion to the south of Hudson's bay, having obtained fire-arms
from the English traders at that bay, and being probably
joined by many of the fugitives from Canada who had
escaped into that country, commenced a war on the Dakotas
of the upper Mississippi. This war in 1671 became general
ah1 along the line of the Algonquin nations on the east, who
had taken possession of Dakota territory, as far south as the
Wisconsin river. In the spiing of that year the chivalrous
Dakotas returned to the Jesuit missionaries at the head of
Lake Superior the presents they had received from them,
and notified the eight fugitive nations at that point, whom
the missionaries declared were the aggressors, to leave the
country, and soon followed up the notice with fierce war
parties, who speedily swept the whole Lake Superior

THE INDIAN TKIBE8, ETC. 53

region of their new enemies. These bands of warriors,
however, still respected the territory of the Ha-ha-ton-wa,
or dwellers at the Falls of St. Mary, and stopped their
advance a few leagues short of that point. This war con-
tinued until 1679, when the French interceded, and Captain
Du Lut visited the head of Lake Superior and negotiated
a peace between the Knisteneux and Chippeways, and the
Assiuiboins, the northern band of the Dakotas, which in-
habited the country from the head of Lake Superior west,
leaving the southern bands of the Dakotas to continue their
war with the several Algonquin tribes on the Wisconsin
river, and the Illinois, who had become allies of the latter
tribes. This peace was "another intrigue of the French, like
that with the Hurons, and produced another civil war.

While the war was progressing with the Delawares, an
Illinois chief, in open council, at the French post at Macki-
naw, unprovoked, stabbed and killed a chief of the Iroquois.
This outrage never having been settled, the Iroquois, in
1680, sent a war party of about 600 to take the usual re-
venge on the Illinois. This war party was joined by the
Miamies, and in September attacked the Illinois, then on
the river of that name, and killed and took prisoners over
1,200, and drove the balance of the tribe, as fugitives, west
of the Mississippi. This attack was while the party of La
Salle was on the Illinois river, some of whom were wounded
in attempting to negotiate for the Illinois. About three
years subsequent to this, another war party of the Iroquois
of about 1,000 attempted to surprise the Foxes of Wisconsin
in their winter's hunt. They passed along the north shore
of Lake Huron late in the fall, and sought the Foxes near
the head-waters of the Wisconsin river, as it was supposed ;
or, as some have it, near the Kewenaw bay of Lake Su-
perior. The Foxes, fortunately warned by two Chippe-
ways who had seen the party, fortified themselves on a
narrow neck of land between two small lakes, and after a
desperate struggle for several days, repulsed the Iroquois

54 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

with heavy loss. Indeed, the Foxes claimed that they
nearly destroyed the whole party. The story of this battle
was related to La Hontan, while he was on the upper Missis-
sippi in 1688, by three Fox chiefs, with great pomp and
flourish; and Captain Carver, who visited that region in
1766 and 1767, had repeatedly related to him by the Chip-
peways the tradition of the battle. This defeat seems -to
have mainly closed the war of the Iroquois in the north-
west, inaugurated by Champlain by his alliance with the
Hurons seventy-three years previous.

But if the Iroquois sent no more powerful war parties to
the north-west, it was not on account of a lack of ability to
do so, but because the French took up the cause of the Illi-
nois, and threatened to renew the war against the Iroquois
unless the latter tribes desisted in their attacks on th«
French allies of the north-west. This demand of the French
the Iroquois flatly denied, and to show their contempt for
the French, sent a war party against Fort St. Louis. The
French sent their popular traders to the north-west, who
brought down to Niagara large bands of the Hurons, Otta-
was, Foxes and other tribes ; but the Governor of Canada,
wasting his time in corresponding with Governor Dongan,
of New York, failed to meet them at Niagara as agreed, to
the great disgust of his allies. The Governor of Canada
finally reached the south shore of Lake Ontario, at a point
above Oswego, ever since called "Anse de la Famine,"
where many of his troops died with famine and local dis-
eases. Here he met a delegation of Iroquois, and concluded
a treaty with them, leaving out the chief point of their dis-
pute, to the disgust of all Canada. Indeed., " the arrogant
chief of the Mohawks " told the governor in council, that
" so far from leaving the Illinois in peace, war against them
is meant, till one of our tribes is exterminated." As soon
as the report of this treaty reached France, it was rejected
by the French ministry, the governor was removed (1685),
and M. Denonville, with 600 troops, was sent to Canada to

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 55

supersede him and conquer their Indian enemies. The sum-
mer of 1686 was spent by the French in preparing for war,
and in hypocritical negotiations for peace. In the spring
of 1687 eight hundred more troops arrived to reinforce the
Canadian army. With all this force Governor Denonville
opened the campaign with an act of treachery that shocked
the moral sensibilities of his most savage allies. He sent a
Jesiiit priest to the Iroquois, to summon a large delegation
of their chiefs to hold a council and settle all difficulties.
When these chiefs arrived and took their place in council,
a position sacred in the eyes of even the King of Dahomey,
the governor meanly arrested and sent them in chains to
France, leaving the poor priest as a kind of hostage in the
Indian country, to the mercy of the Iroquois. To the credit,
however, of the Indians, they scorned to revenge themselves
on the poor priest, but sent him under a safe escort to his
friends in Canada. The governor then led his troops into
the Indian country, had a skirmish with 300 Mohawks,
who burned their own town and fled. The French obtained
a quantity of the Indians' corn, and then retired from the
country, making no attempt to invade the balance of the
confederacy.

The retreat of Governor Denonville from the country was
the signal for the rallying of the fierce old warriors to re-
venge and punish an accumulation of grievances ; and
during the balance of the summer and fall they ravaged all
western Canada with fire and tomahawk, and even assaulted
the block-houses about Montreal.

During the following winter the French made a truce
with the Iroquois, which their allies were suffered to contin-
ually break; but finally, in the spring, the Governor of
Canada was notified by the Governor of New York, that as
the Iroquois occupied a part of the British territory, the
king had taken those Indians under his protection. Thus
the Indian affairs were suffered to rest during the year 1688,
as both English and French turned their attention to the

56 UPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

revolutions in Europe. The right of succession to the British
crown having been contested by the King of France, he
declared war against the English in June, 1689, and the
most distant colonies prepared for their defense against
invasion, and their respective Indian allies were armed
anew, and urged on by the exciting influence of spirituous
liquors to deeds of blood and carnage.

The Iroquois, still smarting from an accumulation of in-
juries, opened the campaign ; and on the 5th of August,
1689, with 1,400 warriors, disembarked on the Island of
Montreal in the dark hours of the night, and for several
leagues devastated the garden of Canada with fire and
tomahawk, and Lachine was laid in ashes by daylight.
They then passed to other parishes, and for ten weeks, al-
most unresisted, held high carnival in the richest portion of
that country.

The following winter, the French made a descent on New
York, burned Schenectady, massacred sixty of its inhabit-
ants, and carried off twenty-seven prisoners. Another party
burned Dover, in New Hampshire, killed twenty-three of
its inhabitants, and carried off twenty-nine captives. The
Abenakis, with a party of French, were sent against the
settlements of Maine, where they massacred two hundred
whites, and burned Casco and the houses for some distance
around. The beautiful settlement of Salmon Falls was also
burned. In this conflict, nearly all the north-western tribes
were hired by the French and sent against the English and
Dutch colonists.

During this severe contest, and until the peace of 1700,
the Foxes and their allies kept up their war parties against
the Sioux, which very much offended the French, as the
latter nation desired all the strength of the north-west
against the English. It had the effect, also, to nearly
destroy the French trade with the Sioux, as the Foxes in-
sisted during the time, that the French traders should not
sell guns and ammunition, " articles contraband of war," to

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 57

the former tribe. The French, acting on the principle that
the Indians had no rights which white men were bound to
respect, persisted in their contraband trade, and conse-
quently their traders were repeatedly plundered by the
Foxes and their allies. The French vowed vengeance
against those Indians, but admitted that they were in no
condition to punish the Indians at that time, but treasured
their wrath until it was well satiated by the massacre at
Detroit, in 1712.

The great power of the Iroquois, backed and armed as
they were by the Dutch and English, finally induced the
French to try diplomacy instead of war with the confede-
rates, and in 1700 they effected a treaty, which the follow-
ing year was ratified with great pomp and flourish by more
than twenty of the north-western tribes, in which the French
" buried the hatchet" in untold depths of earth, and de-
clared that they would exterminate the tribe that first re-
newed the war. The French evidently designed at first to
split the confederacy and get up another civil war, and
made their first treaty with the Senecas, but the whole con-
federacy ratified it, under their plea to the English, that it
was necessary to get back their prisoners. This treaty the
English opposed, but failed to defeat ; and in 1700 the Earl
of Bellomont made a treaty with the Iroquois, nearly the
same month as that in which the treaty was made by the
French, by which the English and Indians renewed their
covenant chain. The following language of the Earl to the
Indian chiefs, expresses the feelings of the parties : " I
have been told that the Jesuits have warned you not to
come hither and enter into a conference with me, assuring
you that I should meet you with a great armed force here,
to surprise and cut you off, and that when that failed, I
should give you poison to drink in rum ; but you shall find
a treatment so contrary to what the Jesuits have insinuated
to you, that if you do not give up your reason to those ih1
men, they will forever hereafter pass with you for the
4*

58 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

greatest liars and impostors in the world, and men that are
a reproach to Christianity."

Frequent attempts were made by the English and Dutch
of New York to establish posts and open trade with the
north-western Indians, but these parties were generally
plundered and taken prisoners by the French. For the pur-
pose of opening such a trade, in 1686 seven Englishmen and
five Indians visited Detroit, and the following year Major
McGregor organized a party of sixty young men of Albany
and several Mohegan Indians, and with thirty -two canoes,
and merchandise for the Indian trade, started for Detroit ;
but they were met by the French on Lake Erie, their goods
plundered, and the party sent prisoners to Canada, and not
released until in the fall of that year, after considerable
negotiation by the English authorities. Soon after this, the
French established a military post above Detroit, and the
English, for the time, abandoned the trade. After the
general peace with the Indian tribes in 1700, the English
made another attempt to extend their trade to the north-
west, but with not much better success ; and the French
made the most strenuous eiforts to keep the north-western
Indians from even visiting Albany to trade.

To this end M. de Pontchartrain wrote from Versailles,
June 6th, 1708, that " It is no way advisable that the In-
dians visit Orange (Albany) and other English settlements,
and an effort should be made to excite a vigorous and
general war between these Indians and the English."
Again, in a letter of the same date, to the Governor of
Canada, he says : " I request you to endeavor to so manage
and engage them (Indians) to make war against the Eng
lish, as to put a stop to all such commercial intercourse.'
Accordingly, M. de Tonty, the Commandant of Fort Fronte-
nac, endeavored to stop all trading parties of the north-
western Indians from having intercourse with the English,
which produced much dissatisfaction among those tribes,
but did not entirely stop that trade. The Indians had

THE INDIAN TBIBES, ETC. 59

found that the English goods were nearly half cheaper than
those of the French, and the open forests enabled them to
escape their vigilance. From this time the English in-
fluence began to gain in the north-west.

The peace that had for a time existed between the Sioux
and the Indians of the region of Hudson's Bay, was
finally broken, as the French believed, by the influence of
the English traders at that place ; and in the fall of 1700 the
great war broke out between the Sioux and the Christin-
eaux, in which the " Assenipoils" (Assiniboins) and the
Chippeways joined the latter tribe. This formidable array
from the north created no little alarm among the warlike
Dakotas ; particularly as among their enemies were now
arrayed the Assiuiboins, a part of their own confederacy,
and hence " Greek must meet Greek." The Dakotas, as
skillful in diplomacy as in war, in 1702 made peace with
the Foxes and their allies along the Fox and Wisconsin
rivers, and, to the chagrin of the French, engaged the latter
tribes against their fierce enemies of the north. The lowas,
and several other southern tribes, also joined the Dakotas.
Thus was organized the second great Indian war of modern
times, which was continued at intervals and with modifica-
tions for nearly one hundred and fifty years. In later years
it has been called " the hereditary war between the Sioux
and Chippeways," and baffled the diplomacy at times
of both the English and French nations. The Sacs and
Foxes, however, had had some difficulties with the Chippe-
ways, and they took this occasion to redress them. This is
confirmed by the Governor of Canada, in his dispatch of
November 4th, 1702, wherein he writes that " the differences
that have arisen between the Sauteurs (Chippeways) and
Sacs and Foxes, had terminated in mutual acts of hostilities."

The treaty of 1700, formed with the different tribes under
the solemn pledges of the Governor of Canada that the
French would take up arms against any -tribe of Indians
who should make war on another tribe, was evidently de-

60 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

signed by the French as a treaty to quiet the Iroquois,
while the Governor used the other tribes to make war on
the English. It had but just been ratified, when the Gov-
ernor of Canada wrote to the French Government, that it
" acquired for the king a certain and incontestable superi-
ority in Canada over all New England," and that the New
England people were " cowardly to an astonishing degree."
In November, 1702, the Governor of Canada Avrote M. de
Pontchartrain that " I will not omit any thing to get the
English and Iroquois at loggerheads and to attach the latter
to us, in order then to make use of the power you sent me
in your letter of the 17th of May, to undertake something
with more certainty against the English."

So inconsistent did the French soon appear to even the
untutored savage, that the Iroquois chief told the Governor
of Canada that " you tell us that we remain quiet on our
mats. Nevertheless, we see our brothers of the Sault and
the Mountain, who ought to be neutral like us, strike the
English. You have given them the hatchet, and they go to
war against the English."

From the treaty of 1700, the French used their whole
diplomatic art to engage the north-western Indians in a war
against the English, but with little success, owing to the
great war then progressing on the upper Mississippi among
those nations. They soon found that scolding and threat-
ening would not avail them, and therefore they appointed a
special agent to visit the north-west, to stop the war, and
make combinations for that purpose. On this subject, the
Governor of Canada, in his dispatch of the 31st of October,
1710, remarked that, "As it is our interest to prevent these
Indians waging war against each other, so as to have it in
our power to make use of them in case of need, should the
Iroquois happen to declare against us, M. Raudot and I
have concluded to send an officer thither to arrest their
hatchet, and have selected, at the request of M. de Ranie-
zay, Sieur d'Argenteuil, his brother-in-law," etc.

THE INDIAN TBIBES, ETC. 61

In 1 7 1 1 the eventful time arrived for renewing the war
against the English, and Governor Vaudreuil dispatched De
Tonty to Detroit and De St. Pierre, by way of Grand river,
to bring down the upper Indians to Montreal, for the pur-
pose of engaging them in a war against the English. He
returned with 400 or 500, who were afterwards joined by
others, and who, in the language of the Governor, after
showing a great reluctance to " closing the path to the
English ; for, after all, my lord, all the upper nations, even
to the Indians of Lake Superior, resort thither," consented
to take up the tomahawk against the English.

But this force was far inferior to that desired by the
French, and this was charged on the Foxes and their allies
along the Wisconsin and Fox rivers, who positively refused
to stop their war against the Chippeways, and engage
against the English.

However, the sequel is briefly told in the dispatch to M.
de Pontchartrain, dated November 6, .1712, wherein it is
stated : " This is what occurred this year, for the man
named Saguina, having discovered during the winter the
secret to unite with the Pautawatimis in order to wage
war together against the Maskoutens and the Outagamies
(Foxes), not only destroyed a considerable number of them
in the place where they were wintering, but having further
found means to win over almost all the other tribes to his
interest, pursued these unfortunate people as far as Detroit,
where they have killed or taken prisoners nearly a thousand
of both sexes."

The Governor of Canada, it will be observed, is extremely
careful not to intimate that the French had any hand in the
massacre at Detroit ; and still he must have had the dispatch
of the commandant at Detroit, which claimed it as a great
French victory. The facts were evidently these : During
the winter of 1711 and 1712, the French, by their agent,
had gained over to their interest the Potawatomies and some
other tribes, which were then in alliance with the Foxes and

<Q2 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Maseotens, and while a large band of the latter tribes were
engaged in their winter's hunt in the present State of
Michigan. Early in the spring, the Ottawas and their new
allies, the Potowatomies, suddenly attacked and massacred
150 Mascotens at St. Joseph's, where they had wintered, and
the Chippeways attacked and defeated a band of Foxes
sixteen miles above Detroit ; whereupon the bands of
Pemoussa and Lamina, of Mascotens and Foxes, including
Avomen and children, numbering nearly 1,000, retreated to
Detroit, and pitched their camp within fifty paces of Fort
Pontchartrain.

This so alarmed the commandant, M. Dubuisson, that, to
use his own language, he " did not know on what saint to
call ;" but he immediately dispatched messages to the hostile
nations, and in a few weeks there came together large bands
of the Chippeways, Ottawas, Hurons, Potowatomies, aud
lastly, a large force of Illinois, Missouris, Osages, Sacs,
Menominies, and -other remote nations. A short council
was held by the French and war chiefs, powder and ball
distributed to the allies, when a great war-whoop was given,
"the earth trembled," and the battle commenced.

It progressed with great violence for nineteen days, all
being fortified, when on a dark, rainy night, the Mascotens
and Foxes fled four leagues to Presque Isle, near Lake St.
Clair, where they again fortified, and were again besieged,
and after four days surrendered at discretion. All but the
women and children, and 100 men, were immediately killed.
The 100 men were bound, but made their escape. What
became of the women and children, the French commandant
does not inform us, but from the number given as killed, we
naturally infer that they belonged to that list. Indeed, he
admits that the Hurons killed all their prisoners. During
this terrible battle, the Foxes and Mascotens twice asked for
peace, but the French commandant refused it, because, in
his own language, he " understood they were paid by the
English for our destruction."

THE INDIAN TKIBES, ETC. 63

The French commandant, in his boasting dispatch, as-
sumed that these Indians came to attack him, but from the fact
that they were there with their women and children, at the
close of their winter's hunt, made no attack on a weak wood
fort with only about a score of soldiers, for weeks, while the
French Indian allies were still absent on their winter's hunt,
openly protested their peaceable intentions, and had never
broken the peace of 1700, the writer is perfectly satisfied
that this was a wanton massacre on the part of the French,
to punish them for not going to Montreal the previous year,
and taking up the tomahawk against the English.

Nothing appears in the English documents that the Foxes
or Mascotens were in alliance with the English ; but in
1710 the Governor of New York told the Iroquois, "the
only way to strengthen you and us, and to weaken ye enemy,
is to have as many (of the " Far nations ") brought into the
covenant chain as possible."

The treaty of peace concluded at Utrecht, April 11, 1713,
may have closed the series of universal wars for the bal-
ance of power in Europe, but it did not equalize the wrongs
of their allies in America. The Foxes and Mascotens soon
reestablished their alliance with all the tribes along the Fox
and Wisconsin rivers, closed the French path to the Sioux
by the Wisconsin river, and in 1719 the war raged fearfully
against both the Illinois Indians on the south, and the Chip-
peways on the north.

In 1714 the French fitted out an expedition of eight
hundred French and Indians, all pledged to exterminate
every Fox Indian in Canada, according to Charlevoix, (torn,
iv., p. 155,) which attacked the Fox fort on the Fox river;
but after carrying on the siege for several days, evidently
with considerable loss, the French abated the extermina-
tion, made a peace with the Foxes, and returned home.

But the French again resorted to diplomacy, and June
7th, 1726, M. de Ligiiery, the commandant at Mackinaw,
concluded a treaty of peace at Green Bay, with the Sacs,

64 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Foxes, and Winnebagoes, while some of the war parties of
those tribes were still on the war path against the Illinois and
Chippeways. That fact may have made the treaty irreg-
ular; but the following year the French secretly resolved
to exterminate the Foxes at all hazards. They made peace
with the Sioux, and in the fall of 1727 established a fort on
Lake Pepin, under the command of Sieur de Lapperriere,
with the Rev. Father Guignas as Jesuit missionary. The
Foxes so far gave effect to the treaty of peace, that they did
not disturb the small force when on their way to establish
that fort. The Governor of Canada also sent a circular in
1727 to the commandants of all the French forts in the
western country, " to make all necessary preparations for
the expedition ;" and said, " it is of the highest consequence
that the Foxes should not be informed of this design."

The expedition left Canada early in the spring of 1728,
nearly 1,000 strong, and were joined by the western forces
and Indian allies at Green Bay ; but they signally failed,
either in surprising or exterminating the Foxes or their
allies. The good Father Guignas abandoned his Sioux
mission, and fled towards the Illinois, but was captured by
the Mascotens and Kickapoos, in October of the same year,
remained a prisoner five months, and was condemned to be
burned at the stake, but was saved by an old Indian's
adopting him into his family. The French say but little of
the misfortune of this expedition, got up in secret, in viola-
tion of their treaty of 1726, but it was evidently a disas-
trous affair.

The French then changed their tactics, and thought to
cut them off by parties of the Iroquois ; and we find, in
1732, the Governor of Canada asking his king for medals to
bestow upon Indian chiefs, to redeem his promise. Said
the governor : " The adventure of our Iroquois and Hurons
against the Foxes, places me under the obligation of giving
a few to the principal chiefs of the expedition."

This process proved too slow, and a new military expedi-

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 65

tion was gotten up, and a battle fought, in 1734, when the
King of France writes to the governor, in 1735, that he
had " learned with pleasure that Captain Desnoyelle's expe-
dition against the Foxes and Sacs has not been attended by
any bad consequences." The Foxes were, however, not
yet subdued, and in 1741 the Governor of Canada again
writes, " that he learns that some under-ground belts were
sent by the English to diverse Indian nations, inviting them
to rid themselves of the French ;" that " the Foxes had sent
out some war parties against the Illinois, whereby several
Frenchmen have been killed ;" " that some brilliant action
would be necessary, in order to keep the nations in check ;"
and that " this project" must be " kept a secret ;" that he
had " nothing so much at heart as the destruction of that
Indian nation, (Foxes,) and that they had " a secret under-
standing with the Iroquois to secure a retreat among the
latter, in case they were obliged to abandon their villages,"
and a similar one with " the Sioux of the Prairies, with whom
they are allied." Still further to circumvent the Foxes,
Sieur de Lusignan, Commandant of the French, spent the
winter of 1745-6 with the Sioux, to effect a peace between
them and the Winnebagoes, Menomonies, and Chippeways,
with whom they had been at war for a long time.

But the misfortunes of the French with their Indian
allies in 1747, culminated in a general conspiracy, as the
governor wrote in November, " fomented by the English,
who, by force of presents and lies, excite the Indians against
us," and among other overt acts, he says : " The Sauteurs
(Chippeways) have defeated one French canoe and plun-
dered the goods," and that " the Foxes at the Bay, the Sioux
and the Sacs — in a word, all the nations, so to speak —
have struck whenever an opportunity presented."

These difficulties had occurred after Captain de la Corne

St. Luc, the commandant at Mackinaw, had mustered all

the north-western Indians possible, and taken them to

Canada to fight against the English. His first attack with

5

6(5 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

these allies was on Fort Clinton, where he took some
English scalps. This general conspiracy was soon arranged,
but it still had the effect to bring back the most of these
allies who had gone east.

Captain de Vercheres, the commandant at Green Bay, did
not leave Mackinaw for the Bay, for fear of the Bay Indians,
until the first of October, 1*747, and about the middle of the
same month wrote to Mackinaw that " he had not been able
to speak to the Indians, who were, when he arrived, all gone
to their winter quarters without having given any token of
repentance for the outrages they had perpetrated. It is
hence to be presumed," he said, " that they persist in their
evil dispositions."

The spring and summer of 1748 was mainly devoted to
various " talks " and negotiations with the different tribes
in the north-west, with no definite results, until the 3rd of
August, when the news of the treaty of peace between
England and France having reached Canada, the governor,
by his proclamation, " orders all the nations to be notified
not to go to New England on any more war parties ; that
they will not be paid in future for prisoners or scalps." The
Indians naturally resolved themselves into quietness when
the whites no longer needed their services, and consequently
lopped off their usual bribes and excitements to war.

Hon. Morgan L. Martin, in his address before the State
Historical Society of Wisconsin, in 1851, speaking from the
traditions extant at Green Bay among the half-breed popu-
lation, said that in 1746 the Sacs and Foxes were defeated
by Captain Morand, " and finally driven beyond the Missis-
sippi." Mr. Grignon, in his " Recollections," published by
the State Historical Society, speaks of the tradition, and
thought that the occurrence was in 1745, and that his grand-
father probably was in the expedition.

Captain John Carver, in 1766 spoke of the tradition, and
fixed the time at sixty years previous, which would have
made it in 1706.

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 67

From the narrative which is here given, and which has
mainly been compiled from official French documents, it
will be observed that each of the traditions are equally im-
probable, as the Sacs and Foxes were still powerful, and
inhabiting the Wisconsin valley in 1712, 1728, 1748, and
1754.

The exploits of Captain Morand are believed to be no
where alluded to in any of the public documents, and he
was probably the mythical hero, or Robin Hood, over which
the French fathers beguiled their dusky half-breed children
at the old trading-posts of La Bay de Puans.

The important wars between the colonies and their allies
so absorbed the attention of the Indians of the Upper Mis-
sissippi, that they do not appear to have done much damage
for several years, and in 1754 the French commandant at
Green Bay, Sieur Marin, succeeded in effecting a treaty of
peace between the Sacs, Foxes, Winnebagoes, and other
tribes of the Bay Indians, and their enemies, the Chippe-
ways, Christinaux, and French.

This peace was of great advantage to the French, as it
enabled them, the following years, on the breaking out of
the French and Indian war, to muster over six hundred of
the north-western Indians, and march them to Fort Du-
quesne, where they assisted the French in the defeat of the
army under General Braddock.

CHAPTER III.

THE INDIAN TEIBES, FROM 1755 TO THE CLOSE OF THE
PONTIAC WAR, IN 1763.

THE impending struggle between the French and British
nations, which was to settle the question of the extent of
their colonial possessions in America, induced the former to
change their system of keeping the various Indian tribes
embroiled in wars among themselves, to the great scandal
of civilized humanity. Hence, the French Government in-
structed M. Duquesne, the Governor of Canada, as early as
April, 1752, that " 'Tis considered proper to direct M. Du-
quesne to lay down henceforward in Canada, a different
system from that always followed hitherto, in regard to
wars among the Indians. With a view to occupy and
weaken them, the principle has been to excite and foment
these sorts of wars. That was of advantage in the infancy
of the settlement of Canada. But in the condition to which
these nations are now reduced, and in their present disposi-
tions generally, it is in every respect more useful that the
French perform between them the part of protectors and
pacificators. They will, thereby, entertain more considera-
tion and attachment for us ; the colony will be more tranquil
in consequence, and we shall save considerable expense.
Cases, however, may occur in which it will be proper to ex-
cite war against certain nations attached to the English ;
but even such cases call for two observations : one, to
endeavor first to gain over these same nations, by recon-

69

oiling them with ours ; and the other, to be as sure as pos-
sible that our Indians will not suffer too much from these
wars."

This new system, however, was evidently to be pursued
as intimated, only when the French could not avail them-
selves of the Indians' services ; hence, M. Duquesne reported
to his Government, in October, 1754, that "the Poutwa-
tomies, Kickapoux, Maskoutins, and Sioux of the Prairies,
have assembled together, to go and destroy the Peorias,
who, for a long time have regarded with insolence the other
Indians ; they are, moreover, people of no faith, who steal
with impunity, even in their neighbors' cabins. This war,
in which I am not at all interested, can be productive only
of a good effect in putting down such banditti. I have,
nevertheless, ordered the commandant to adjust all matters
after these rascals will have received a sharp lesson."

The impending crisis seems to have been well understood
by both governments, and as early as the summer of 1753,
the French opened the campaign, by sending Sieur Marin,
with about two hundred and fifty soldiers and some Indians,
to take formal possession of the Ohio valley, who erected a
fort at " River au Boeuf" at the present site of Waterford,
Erie county, Pennsylvania.

In October following, Major George Washington was
dispatched by Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, to the
commandant at the French fort, remonstrating against the
French occupying the Ohio valley. The English, about the
same time, commenced the erection of a fort at the present
site of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but were soon dispossessed
by the French, who proceeded with the work, and erected
Fort Duquesne.

In April, 1754, Lieutenant-Colonel Washington was dis-
patched by the Governor of Virginia, with a force of about
400 troops, to drive out the French from the valley ; but in
the mean time, the French, having been reinforced, attacked

70 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Colonel Washington at Fort Necessity, July 3, 1754, and
forced him to surrender his troops.

Thus we find that the question of the right to the posses-
sion of the great valley of the Mississippi, at this early day,
involved two continents in a murderous, destructive war,
which continued over eight years, bringing untold sufferings
upon both the white and the red men of the new world.
The British government dispatched two regiments to Vir-
ginia from some Irish port, as early as January 13, 1755,
under the command of General Braddock; and in April
following, the French sent a fleet of six battalions of regu-
lars, of about 3,000 men, under the command of Baron de
Dieskaw, as major-general.

In February, the Shawnees, of Ohio valley, were excited
to commence war against the English settlements, and took
seventeen scalps and ten prisoners, and M. Duquesne sent a
detachment of troops on the ice from Montreal to support
the Indians. With no declaration of war between the home
governments, but under the strongest protestations of peace,
both nations hastened to send large armies across the
Atlantic, while the recruiting drums rattled in every colo-
nial village, and the war-whoop was heard in every savage
tribe from the Atlantic to the Rocky mountains, and from
the Gulf of Mexico to the frozen regions of the north.

The popular Sicur Marin, who commanded the French
expedition to the Ohio in 1753, returned to Canada late in
the fall of the same year, and in the following spring was
assigned to the command of the post at Green Bay, where
he effected a peace between the Sacs, Foxes and other Bay
Indians, and the Christinaux of Lake Superior, thus recon-
ciling the troublesome Foxes, with whom the French had
been at war for nearly forty years, and brought the united
Indian force of the north-west into the league against the
English.

As the campaign of 1755 opened on the Ohio, all the popu-
lar Indian leaders of the north-west called Indian councils,

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 71

distributed war belts, ammunition, arms, blankets and other
presents, with a good supply of brandy, and rallied the
dusky warriors for the murderous conflicts which ensued.
The prominent Indian traders, believing that the exclusive
possession of the Mississippi valley by the French was
absolutely necessary to preserve to them their monopoly of
Indian trade, seconded the efforts of the French officers, and
in a few days long files of warriors, under their bravest
chiefs, were on their way for the defense of Fort Duquesne,
at Pittsburgh. Charles Langlade, a half-breed trader of
Green Bay, De Carry, a French trader among the Winne-
bagoes, and father of a line of Winnebago chiefs, of whom
one-eyed De Carry was grandson, and others too numerous
to mention, trading among other tribes, joined the winding
files as leaders and interpreters, and were often the most
savage of their savage companions in arms. These bands
were joined on the route by small parties of warriors from
most of the tribes of the Ohio valley, and a considerable
force soon congregated at Fort Duquesne for the defense of
that post.

General Braddock, with nearly 1,200 regular veteran
soldiers from Great Britain, and some provincials from
Virginia, under Colonel Washington, who had cut his way,
at great labor, over the mountains of Virginia and Pennsyl-
vania, was met within four leagues of Fort Duquesne, on
the 9th day of July, 1755, by an advance party of skir-
mishers, consisting of 72 French regulars, 146 Canadians,
and 637 north-western Indians, all under the command of
Captain de Beaujou; and after a severe battle of nearly
four hours, General Braddock's army was routed with great
slaughter, and put to flight. This action cost the English
nearly 600 men dead on the field, according to the French
account, besides wounded; fifteen brass field-pieces and
mortars, and their entire ammunition and camp equipage.
General Braddock was mortally wounded, and a large pro-
portion of his officers killed. Captain de Beaujou, the French

72 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

commandant, was killed at the first fire, but the losses of
the French and Indians were claimed to be less than 100.

This decisive action for a time left the Ohio valley in the
peaceable possession of the French, and their allies of the
north-west. Baron de Dieskaw was quite as unfortunate in
his campaign against Fort Lake George as his English
cotemporary had been in Pennsylvania. The Baron left
Montreal with 720 French regulars, 1,500 Canadians, and
760 Indians of the Huron, Iroquois, Abenakis, and Nepiss-
ing tribes. He passed along Lake Champlain, and with a
large part of his regulars and Canadians, and all his Indian
allies, on the 8th of September, 1755, attacked the advance
of about 1,000 provincials and Indians, under Colonel
Williams and the Mohawk Chief Hendricks, which he drove
in with the loss of those two leaders and many of the men,
and then assaulted the camp at Fort Lake George, com-
manded by General William Johnson. In this assault he
was himself mortally wounded and taken prisoner, Captain
St. Peter, who commanded the Indians, killed, his forces
utterly defeated and routed, and pursued for some distance
with great slaughter. General Johnson had about 250
Indians of the six nations in his command, but the most of
those tribes either remained neutral or had joined the
French. Baron de Dieskaw charged the loss of the battle
" to the treachery of the Iroquois," and that " as the
Iroquois perceived some Mohawks, they came to a dead
halt ;" but this statement was not corroborated in Governor
Vaudreuil's dispatch, who, on the contrary, stated that the
Indians charged up to the English barricades, led on by the
Rev. Father Andran, the Jesuit missionary of the Abenakis.

After the defeat of General Braddock, the north-western
Indians returned home, and the Governor of Canada ordered
the commandants at Detroit and Mackinaw to send down a
body to assist in the defence of Niagara as early as Septem-
ber of the same year ; but those commandants reported that

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 73

the Indians " were so fatigued after their campaign at Fort
Duquesne, that they were unable to go."

The tierce battles which ended by the total defeat of the
armies of Generals Braddock and Dieskaw, had so far
brought to light the intrigues and hypocrisy of the courts
of the two nations, that further secrecy was of no import-
ance; and, December 21st, 1755, the French foreign minis-
ter publicly demanded " reparation for insults to the French
flag," to which the British minister replied, January 13,
1756, that it could not be accorded while the "French
armed posts to the north-west of the Alleghanies existed."

After the war had been carried on nearly two years, it
was formally proclaimed by England, May 17th, 1756, and
by France, June 16th following; but little had been accom-
plished, however, between the contending armies. During
this year, crimination between the English and colonial
officers run high. General Shirley was made coinmander-
in-chief by the crown, but the colonists early refused to
volunteer under him, and demanded General Winslow.

Colonel Washington, as early as February, visited Gen-
eral Shirley at Boston, to settle the rank between himself
and Captain Dagworthy, holding a king's commission. In
the mean time, the Indian forces were called in from the
north-west by the French officials, and overran all the
western parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Caro-
lina, and Georgia ; and the French claimed that over
3,000 prisoners, men, women, and children, were captured
and carried into the Ohio valley. Colonel Washington,
with a regiment of Rangers, whom the French claimed
were dressed and painted like Indians, acted on the defen-
sive, but could not defend so extensive a frontier. The
French had in their service this season, seven hundred Dela-
wares and Shawnees, two hundred and fifty Miamies, and
three hundred Indians from Detroit ; also, seven hundred
from Mackinaw, under the command of De Repentigny,
Langlade, and Herbert, junior. They also had many from

74 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Illinois and from Canada; — in all amounting to 3,250, as
appeared by a French dispatch.

M. Marin, the commandant at Green Bay, with sixty
Indians from his post, with De Villiers, the commandant
from New Orleans, with four hundred French and Indians,
on the 2nd July, 1756, attacked a large convoy of supplies
for Oswego ; and he claimed to have destroyed five hundred
bateaux, and killed four hundred and fifty English. Lieu-
tenant De Villiers, the 2nd of August following, with a
detachment of fifty-five French and Illinois Indians, cap-
tured and burnt Fort Granville, within sixty miles of Phila-
delphia. Lieutenant Marin, with his Wisconsin Indians,
went to Lake George, and with a party of one hundred,
captured fifty-two English near that lake, some time in
September. During the following winter, several scalping
expeditions were sent against the English, but there were
probably no north-western Indians among them, as they
returned home in the fall.

The winter of 1756-7, in the north-west, was spent in
recruiting Indians for the French army; and in June, 1757,
1,000 reached Montreal, ready for new scenes of fight and
plunder. General Monte aim planned the attack on Fort
William Henry, at Lake George, and moved in that direc-
tion. Lieutenant Marin, in charge of about two hundred
Wisconsin Indians and Canadians, while on a scout in July,
boldly attacked Fort Edward, and then retreated with one
prisoner and thirty-two scalps.

General Montcalm, in his dispatch, complimented these
Indians, by saying, " they generally have all behaved well."
The general labored hard to gain the confidence of his
Indian allies, having, as he said, " chanted the war songs'"
with them, given " feasts," and held " councils ;" and was
" obliged to pass" his " time with them in. .ceremonies as
tiresome as they were necessary." He dare not mention to
them the attempt to assassinate the king, for fear that
" these barbarians, so ferocious in war, so humane iu their

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC.

75

lodges, might waver in their esteem for us, seeing us capable
of producing such monsters."

He was obliged to submit all his plans of the campaign
to the general councils, " for," said he, " these independent
people, whose assistance is purely voluntary, require to b*e
consulted ; every thing must be communicated to them, and
their opinions and caprices are oftentimes a law for us."
But the greatest difficulty with all the white commandants
was to keep the Indians from returning home after one
battle, or even a skirmish in which a few scalps had been
taken, for the reason, as wrote the general, that " these
people scruple to incur again the risk of war after one suc-
cess, pretending that such would be tempting the "Master of
Life, and bring down on them bad luck." After speaking
of the praying Indians before the battle, he remarked :
" But this pious exercise was not for the upper country
nations, whose superstitions and excessively restless minds
were juggling, dreaming, and fancying that every delay
portended misfortune. On marching, these nations left
suspended a complete equipment, as a sacrifice to the
Manitou, to render him propitious."

Attached to the French army at the capture of Fort
William Henry were 1,806 Indians, of which 820 were
the " domiciliated" or Christian Indians of Canada, and the
following from the north-west :

Ottawas,

Chippeways,

Potowatomies,

Menomonies,

Miamies,

Winnebagoes,

lowas, .

Foxes, .

Onillas,

Sacs,

Loups, .

Total,

C Commanded byDe Langlade, Florement,
340 < and Herbin, with Abbe Mealavet, mis-
( sionary.

r~o ( La Plant and De Lorimer; Chesne, in-
129 ) terpreter.

15

48 De Tailly, interpreter.

10

20 Marin and Langus.

10 Reaume, interpreter.

76 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

All of the Indian allies were placed under the command
of M. de St. Z/ucy an old commandant at Mackinaw and in
the north-west previous to 1748, who had often led the
Indians against the English.

• Thus it is apparent that these Indians required all the
tricks and appliances of civilization to induce them to
engage in war against the English ; and while they have
done no worse than they were hired to do, they have a
counterpart in the Hessians of Germany, who fought as
hirelings for the English in our American revolution.

Fort William Henry was attacked by General Montcalm,
and surrendered August 9th, 1757, and the English soldiers
paroled and sent to Fort Edward, under an escort, but were
attacked on the way and plundered by the Indians, to the
eternal disgrace of the French and their Indian allies ;
although many of the French officers, including General
Montcalm, to their credit, risked their own lives in defence
of the English soldiers.

While this affair has been termed by the English a mas-
sacre, but few of the English were killed. Nearly four
hundi'ed were taken as prisoners; but the most of them
were immediately released by General Montcalm, and the
balance, after their return to Montreal: This unfortunate
affair, however, was not charged against the north-western
Indians ; but General Montcalm expressly says, in his dis-
patch, that it was commenced by the Abenakis, a " domi-
ciliated" tribe of Canada, " who pretended to have experi-
enced some ill treatment at the hands of the English."
They were probably retaliating for the New England mas-
sacre of their own tribe at Norridgewock, in 1724, when
the Rev. Father Rale, the aged Jesuit missionary, was
mercilessly shot down while clinging to his mission cross,
his church burned, and his Dictionary of the Abenakis
language carried off and deposited in the Harvard college,
where it still remains. Even as late as 1754, it appears by
a letter of that date, from M. Duquesne, that the Abenakis

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 77

were desiring to revenge the death of two of their chiefs,
killed two years previous, near Boston.

The lowas, a kindred tribe to the Winnebagoes, appear
to have sent ten warriors this year to assist the French;
but the Sioux, probably on account of their wars with the
Chippeways, never joined the French during the war.

During the winter of 1757-8, several expeditions were
made against the English by small parties of French and
Indians ; one of which burnt a village on the German Flats,
and took one hundred and fifty prisoners ; another defeated
Major Rogers, and carried off one hundred and forty-six
scalps and a few prisoners ; but the Indians which accom-
panied these marauding parties were the Iroquois, and other
domiciliated Indians of Canada, the north-western Indians
having returned home in the fall ; and, unfortunately, many
of them on their way thither died with the small-pox, which
generally proves fatal to them under their system of medi-
cine. Many also died during the winter of the same disease,
at Mackinaw and some other places. A difficulty also
occurred at Green Bay, and a party of Menomonies killed
eleven Canadians, burned the store-house, but missed the
commandant, who was probably M. Marin.

But few of the north-western Indians went to Canada in
1758, and none of them were with General Montcalni when
he defeated General Howe before Ticondaroga, July 8th ;
but soon after that, the Indians were sent to General Mont-
calm, under M. De St. Luc and M. Marin, who did some
service in capturing an English convoy near Fort Edward,
containing fifty-four wagons, on the 30th of the same month.
M. Marin, " a colonial officer of great reputation," com-
manded another expedition, which was met by the " par-
tisan Robert Rogers," and defeated with some loss ; or, to
use the more classic French, " he extricated himself very
handsomely" from the English.

The probability that the English would attack Niagara
in the spring of 1759, induced the military authorities of

78 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Canada to make early preparations for the defense of that
post. They dispatched orders early in the fall of 1758, to
the north-west, to bring down in the spring all the available
force of the upper country, including the Illinois region and
the Ohio valley, with a rendezvous at Presque Isle, near the
present site of Erie, Pennsylvania. M. Pouchot, " an ex-
perienced and intelligent " officer, was ordered to repair to
the outlet of Lake Ontario, on the ice, in March, and with
cannon ; from thence to embark, at the opening of naviga-
tion, for Fort Niagara, in two corvettes, with two pickets
of regulars.

M. De Montigny, with 300 Canadians, and provisions in
thirty bateaux, was to go by the north shore of Lake
Ontario to Niagara, at the opening of navigation, while M.
De St. Luc, with some Canadians and Indians, was to
reconnoiter about Oswego. He made an attack on that
place, but was driven off', and M. De St. Luc wounded. M.
de Ligneris, in command at Fort Machault, at the junction
of the Alleghany and French creek, Pennsylvania, was or-
dered to repair to Niagara, if necessary for its defense.

Agreeable to the anticipations of the authorities of
Canada, the Americans and English, with 2,200 troops and
600 Indians, mostly Iroquois, left Oswego July 1, 1759, for
Niagara, under General Prideaux, with Colonel William
Johnson, Indian agent, second in command, and were soon
after joined by 300 additional Iroquois Indians, and on the
7th of the same month laid siege to Fort Niagara. Notice
of this anticipated attack was early sent to M. de Ligneris,
the commandant at Presque Isle, to come with his whole
force to the assistance of the besieged.

On the 24th of July, M. de Ligneris, with his force from
Ohio river, M. Aubry from Illinois, M. Marin from Green
Bay, in charge of the Indians, and M. De Montigny, M.
Repentigny, commandant at Mackinaw, and others, with
a combined force estimated by the English at 850 Cana-
dians, and 350 Indians, but by the French at 400 Canadians,

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 79

and 30 Indians, attacked an English detachment, partly
fortified, on the bank of the Niagara river, above the fort,
under Lieutenant-Colonel Massey, and were totally defeated,
with 200 killed, and 100 taken prisoners. The balance
escaped back to the 150 Canadians left to guard the canoes
and bateaux above the Falls, and under M. Belestre returned
to Detroit with their Indian allies. Five captains and
twelve subaltern officers, mostly wounded, were taken pris-
oners, among whom were Messrs. De Ligneris, De Aubry,
De Marin, De Moutigny, and De Repentigny. On the fol-
lowing day, M. Pouchot, having learned of the loss of this
reinforcement, surrendered the fort to the English.

This misfortune to the French was attributed by them to the
fact that the 900 Iroquois Indians on the side of the English,
induced the western Indians, nearly 1,000 strong, not to
fight, but with them to remain neutral, and when M. Marin
rallied his warriors for the fight, but thirty of the most
determined of them followed him to the attack, while only
about 100 Iroquois assisted the English. This defeat, with
the loss of Fort Niagara, cut off from the French of Canada
nearly all their western resources and western allies, and
enabled the English to concentrate their entire force on
Quebec and Montreal. This obliged the French to evacuate
Crown Point and fall back on IS Isle au Nolx, near the
outlet of Lake -Champlain, on the 4th of August following.

The fall of Quebec, September 18th, and the surrender of
all Canada to the English the following September, 1760,
closed the French power in Canada, which had continued
for one hundred and fifty years.

The English exercised no less zeal than the French to
secure the Indians as their allies during the whole war.
Early in the spring of 1755, General Braddock appointed
Colonel William Johnson as Indian agent for the Six Nations
in New York, and gave him £2,000, to be expended mainly
in Indian presents.

In June of the same year, Colonel Johnson called an

80 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Indian council, at which he called the Great Spirit to wit-
ness that the English had no evil designs against them,
threw them the war belt in General Braddock's name, began
the war-dance, and " ordered a large tub of punch out to
drink the king's health." He armed, clothed and fitted out
every Indian who would go to war against the French. The
Indians complained of many frauds practiced on them in
getting their lands, to which Colonel Johnson replied, with
the present of a belt of wampum, that " I am convinced
that many frauds have been made use of in the purchasing
of your lands, for which I am very sorry," and pledged
them redress. The Indians went to war, but the redress
came not. The Indians of course became cold and neutral,
and some joined the enemy, and the western nations laid
waste the whole western frontier.

Again, in September, 1757, ColonelJohnson remonstrated
to the lords of trade, " that the Indians are disgusted and
dissatisfied with .the extensive purchases of land, and do
think themselves injured thereby. This is one main cause
of their defection from the British interest." In 1758 the
British government awoke to the importance of the ques-
tion, and at the treaty at Easton, Pennsylvania, held by the
Governors of that State and New Jersey, they agreed to
surrender to the Indians certain lands, the purchase of
which had caused so much complaint; and the deeds of
surrender were delivered to an assembly of ten nations of
Indians, being the Iroquois and some of their allies, April
17, 1759. At this time, ColonelJohnson remarked to theni:
" You see, while the French keep their forts in the midst of
your country, and fight with us in order to secure the pos-
session of them, we give up those lands which you had sold
us." This was all very satisfactory to the Indians, and they
delivered up their prisoners, and heartily engaged in the
war against the French.

This amicable adjustment of their difficulties gave Colonel
Johnson 900 warriors in July at Fort Niagara, who won over

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 81

the western Indians, and thereby hastened the downfall of
the French power in America. So important did these
measures appear to the lords of trade, that they reported,
and the king in council confirmed, November 23, 1761, the
following language : " It was happy for us that we were
early awakened to a proper sense of the injustice and bad
policy of such conduct towards the Indians ; and no sooner
were these measures pursued which indicated a disposition
to do them possible justice upon this head of complaint, than
those hostilities which had produced such horrid scenes of
devastation ceased, and the Six Nations and their depend-
ants became at once, from the most inveterate enemies, our
fast and faithful friends."

This war was sustained with great zeal by the French
traders, and courrier de bois of the north-west, and probably
two-thirds of them perished in the fearful conflicts which
took place during its existence ; but, being on the unfortu-
nate side, no historian of that day has preserved their
memory, and they are only known, at this day, from the
obscure traditions of their half-breed descendants. Some
were the husbands of the daughters of Indian chiefs, and were
fathers of illustrious lines of chiefs, who are yet in the pos-
session of power in their respective tribes. As an instance,
might be named De Carry, the grandfather of the old Win-
nebago chief, " One-eyed De Carry." He married Ho-po-
ko-e-kaw, or " the Glory of the Morning," the daughter of
the principal chief of the Winnebagoes, and had two sons ;
the oldest, Choo-ke-kaw, or " the Ladle," was head chief at
the Portage, in Wisconsin, 1801, and signed the treaty of
peace with the United States in 1816 : the younger son was
Chah-post-kaw-kaw, or "the Buzzard," who came with a
band to La Crosse, where he was killed, previous to 1800.
The latter was father to Wadge-hutta-kaw, or "the Big
Canoe, commonly called " One-eyed De Carry " by the
English. He died at the Tunnel, in "Wisconsin, August,
1 864, very aged.
6

82 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Wa-kon-ha-1caW) or " Snake Skin," another chief, brother
to "Big Canoe," was alive in 1867. He was orator of the
tribe, and known to the English as Washington De Carry.
Old De Carry fought through the war, and was wounded
April 28th, 1760, before Quebec, and soon after died at
Montreal. The widow was chief of the tribe in 1766, and
was visited by Captain Carver in that year, her father
having probably died in the war.

Equally unfortunate were the popular French colonial
officers, who had explored and developed so much of the
north-west, and had wielded a controlling influence among
the red men for many years. We mark their fall in the
thickest of the fight, from year to year, and when the war
closed by the surrender of Canada, Lieutenant Charles De
Langlade, the half-breed Ottawa, almost alone survived,
and was, by the Governor of Canada, September 3rd, 1760,
ordered to take charge of and conduct the Canadians under
his command to Mackinaw, and the Indians to their villages,
and forward two companies of English deserters to Louisi-
ana. Lieutenant De Langlade was the grandfather of the
Grignons who, in the present century, have occupied promi-
nent positions at Green Bay.

The rule of the French in the north-west was mainly like
that of the libertine over his mistress, — full of coquetry and
smiles, and they were generally called by the endearing
name of " good spirits." The advent of the French trader
to an Indian village was a day of rejoicing. He smoked
their pipe of peace, chanted their songs, joined in the festive
dance, gave feasts to the chiefs, and took to wife their
daughters. The Indian maidens emulated each other to be-
come the trader's mistress, and be decorated with the gaudy
trappings of civilization. The French Jesuit missionaries,
with breviary and cross, who had then threaded every
forest and navigated every river in the Mississippi valley,
and had had thousands of converts among the different

WA-KON-HA-KAW.

(WINNEBAGO CHIEF.)

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 85

tribes, generally left the country and returned to Europe on
the fall of the Canadian government.

The change of government could not restore the dead
fathers to their thousands of weeping children, and their
sorrowing mothers could only tell them that their fathers
had been scalped by the merciless " Long-knives." The
small-pox, a fatal disease to the Indians, had raged fearfully
among many of the tribes. Trade for a time was nearly
suspended for want of goods, and the Indian missed his
powder and ball, to kill the game to feed his family.

During the war, the English had been profuse in their
promises to the Indians, as an inducement to take up the
tomahawk against the French ; that their lands should be
returned, and supplies furnished at a far less rate than was
done by the French ; but, on the contrary, wrote Colonel
Johnson, Indian agent, in June, 1761 : " Instead of restoring
their lands, we are erecting more forts in many parts of the
country, and goods are still so dear that their warriors and
women are very uneasy, and apt to believe very bad reports
concerning the intentions of the English."

The French of Louisiana, who were very anxious to turn
the channel of the Indian trade in that direction, and had
continued to hold possession of the Illinois, industriously
circulated among the Indians every damaging report pos-
sible against the English ; and to give point to the charge
of sinister motives of the English in erecting forts in the
Ohio valley, alleged that it was the intention of the English
to take the Ohio valley from the Delawares, Seuecas, Shaw-
nees, Miamies, and other tribes that then inhabited it, and
give it to the Cherokees, who were friendly to the English,
but with whom the Ohio Indians were at war.

To encourage the Indians to take up the war hatchet
against the English, war belts were freely circulated by the
French among the Indians during the winter of 1762-3,
with a statement that early in the spring the King of France
was coming with a great army to recover possession of

86 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Canada, and inviting the Indians to anticipate their father
by capturing all the English forts in the country. There is
reason to believe that these were not idle, gossiping stories
of the French, but that there was a serious disposition
among many of the Canadians to revolt, and, with the
assistance of France, to gain their former position. In 1762
England had refused to ratify a treaty of peace with France,
and the latter nation had formed an alliance with Spain,
and many in the colonies thought that France might, with
the help of Spain, regain her Canadian possessions. Several
memorials were addressed to the King of France to that
effect, by prominent Canadian officers in the late war, but
fortunately, perhaps, for them, the belligerent nations finally
ratified a treaty of peace, February 10th, 1763, by which
the French ceded Canada to England, and Louisiana to
Spain, thereby terminating their possessions in North
America.

But the poor Indians, buried in the depths of the primeval
forests of the great west, knew nothing of the intrigues of
the vacillating courts of Europe. Intent on the point of
serving the French, ridding themselves of their hateful
enemies, and revenging the murders still often perpetrated
on them by the licentious soldiers, traders, and pioneers on
the frontier settlements, unwittingly went on perfecting
their leagues, and finally commenced an attack on all the
English forts in the north-west.

Pontiac, a chief of a roving band of the Ottawas, then
near Detroit, who had distinguished himself at the defeat
of General Braddock in 1755, and at several other battles
during the French wars in America from 1746, became the
leading chief, and, assisted by the French, planned a simul-
taneous surprise of the English posts. Mackinaw, Miami,
Presque Isle, Ouiatenon, St. Josephs, Sandusky, La Bceuf
and Venango, were taken, and the most of the garrisons tom-
ahawked. Detroit, the most important post in command of
the English, was reserved by the cunning chief, on which

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 87

to exercise his own prowess and stratagem ; but failing to
keep to himself his plan of surprise, it was disclosed to
Major Gladvvin, the commandant of the post, by a friendly
squaw, and by that means saved from surprise and capture.
Pontiac laid siege to the fort, but failed to reduce it. The
Indians also laid siege to Fort Ligonier, Bedford and Lou-
don, of Pennsylvania, and Cumberland, of Maryland, and
devastated the country about Fort Pitt. Nearly all the
English traders among the Indians were plundered and
massacred, and raiding parties sent against the frontier set-
tlements of Pennsylvania and Virginia, with murderous
effect.

The usual errors in dates have occurred among historians
relating to this war, but Bancroft has collected them with
considerable accuracy, and dates the commencement of the
siege of Detroit, May 9 ; the capture of Sandusky, May 6 ;
of St. Josephs, by a party of Potowatomies from Detroit,
May 25 ; Miami, May 27 ; Fort Ouiatanon, near Lafayette,
Indiana, June 1 ; Mackinaw, June 2 ; Presque Isle, June
22 ; and Le Boeuf, June 18.

Authors have generally enumerated Green Bay among the
list, but Lieutenant Gorell, who commanded there when
notified of the capture of Mackinaw, voluntarily abandoned
that fort, and was guarded by the tribes about the Bay,
who were friendly to the English, far on his way towards
Montreal, to a place of safety.

It has also been customary to include the Sacs and Foxes,
and other Indians of the Bay, as hostile to the English, and
as having joined Pontiac's confederacy, but facts do not
well sustain the allegation ; on the contrary, they received
presents from Sir William Johnson for their fidelity to the
English. The Sioux, instead of joining Pontiac, offered Sir
William Johnson 5,000 warriors to assist him in destroying
the confederates. Neither did the Illinois Indians, nor the
Chippeways of Lake Superior, become members of the
Pontiac confederacy. The confederacy might be said to

88 UPPEB MISSISSIPPI.

include a few Ottawas and Chippeways about Mackinaw,
and to have extended to Lake Ontario and the Ohio river,
including the Ottawas, lower Chippeways, Hurons, Miamies,
Kickapoos, Potowatoraies, Shawnees, Delawares, and the
Geneseo band of the Senecas.

Soon after the war commenced, the Indians of Canada
sent a message to their hostile brethren, notifying them that
peace had been established between France and England ;
that the King of England had now become their father, and
advising peace. Sir William Johnson held a treaty with the
Six Nations, reconciled the Senecas, and sent parties of the
Six Nations against the Delawares, which made some cap-
tures, and broke up the confederacy, the Delawares suing
for peace.

In the mean time, Le Neyon deVilliere, the French com-
mandant at Fort Chartres, in Illinois, sent belts and a pro-
clamation, addressed to twenty-five nations, notifying them
that the French had surrendered Canada ; that peace was
established ; that the French were retiring west of the Mis-
sissippi, and advising peace. This message reached Pontiac
at Detroit, the last day of October, 1763, and the next
morning he sent overtures of peace to Major Gladwin, who
notified the chief that he had no power to conclude a peace,
but would refer it to General Gage. This was satisfactory
to the chief, and the savages dispersed to their hunting-
grounds, and the fort was relieved of its long and painful
siege.

General Gage, early in 1764, dispatched an order to Major
Gladwin, at Detroit, that if the western Indians were desir-
ous of peace, to send them to Niagara, where they would
be met by Sir William. Johnson, the Indian agent, and a
peace concluded. Consequently, over 2,000 Indians assem-
bled at Niagara by the 25th of August, 1764, containing
delegations from the Hurons, Senecas, Ottawas, Chippe-
ways, Menominies, Foxes, Sacs, Winuebagoes, and some
tribes from the north of Lake Superior. They were met by

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 89

Sir William Johnson, with about 600 friendly Indians, and
Colonel Bradstreet, with an army designed for the west.

Treaties were formed with the Hurons and Senecas, but
the balance of the tribes brought certificates from Major
Glad win and others, that they had not joined in the war
against the English, except some individuals who had left
the tribes for that purpose, but had continued friendly to
the English. Colonel Johnson reported that he " admitted
them into the covenant chain of friendship, on their agree-
ing to the reestablishment of Mackinaw, and promising to
get all prisoners out of the enemy's hands, as also to pro-
cure some restitution for the traders' losses ; all which they
engaged to perform."

Colonel Johnson also reported that " the Indians who did
not attend at Niagara, were, I believe, doubtful of our
sincerity, but they now seem desirous to make terms of
concession," etc. ; and that " Pontiac is, with some of the
most obstinate, as yet in the Miami's country, near the west
end of Lake Erie, but has sent to desire peace, and I believe
is only apprehensive for his security and that of those with
him, otherwise he would have attended the congress."

Colonel Bradstreet left for Detroit with his army, took
the responsibility to treat with some of the Indians, to the
great disgust of Colonel Johnson ; and finally returned a
part of his army in the fall in bad condition. Colonel Bou-
quet, in command of a small body of forces, left Fort Pitt,
and penetrated the heart of the Delaware and Shawnee
country ; obtained over two hundred prisoners, and brought
back hostages that they would go to Colonel -Johnson and
conclude a treaty. In May, 1765, the Delaw'ares visited
Colonel Johnson, and settled their difficulties by treaty ;
and the Shawnees followed their example, July 9th ensuing.

May 15, 1765, Colonel Croghan set out from Fort Pitt

with a party to visit the Illinois and take the surrender of

the posts in that region from the French, but they were

taken prisoners on the way by the Kickapoos and Masco-

6*

90 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

tens, taken to Post Vincent, and from thence towards the
Illinois, when Colonel Croghan met Pontiac, and returned
with him to Detroit, where he arrived with that chief,
August 17th. Here peace was concluded with the balance
of the hostile Indians, to the general satisfaction of all
parties ; and Pontiac declared that he and the Indians had
been imposed upon by the French for the purpose of obtain-
ing the beaver, and called it the " beaver war," and sent his
pipe to Colonel Johnson.

Captain Sterling, with a small detachment of troops, took
possession of Fort Chartres in the Illinois, in October, 1765,
without opposition ; and finally, Pontiac, in July following,
with several south-western chiefs, visited Colonel Johnson
at Oswego, settled all differences, and in his closing speech,
Pontiac eloquently remarked : " Father, it will take some
time before I can make known to all the nations what has
passed here, but I will do it even from the rising of the sun
to the setting, and from north to south."

Pontiac was a chief of more than ordinary ability, as well
as business capacity, and constantly kept two secretaries,
one to read his letters, and the other to write. Colonel
Croghan, who was with him for some weeks, said of him
that he " is a shrewd, sensible Indian, of few words, and
commands more respect among all those nations than any
Indian I ever saw could do amongst his own tribe."

Some three years after the close of the war, and in 1767,
this able chief was assassinated in Illinois by a Peoria
Indian, for a reward of a barrel of rum from an English
trader, to revenge which the Ottawas, Potowatomies, and
some other tribes, are said to have nearly annihilated the
whole band of Peorias.

CHAPTER IV.

THE INDIAN TRIBES, FROM 1764 TO THE CLOSE OF THE WAR
WITH GREAT BRITAIN, IN 1815.

THE desire of revenge, with the Indian, terminates when
the belt of peace is presented by the adversary and accepted,
and the pipe passed round and individually smoked by the
dusky warriors ; and one who has been the greatest enemy,
may safely pass through two lines of wigwams, without
danger of insult or injury ; for their religion holds that an
injury to an enemy of whom they have accepted the belt
and the pipe, is an insult to the Great Spirit. But such is
not the case with the white man of the frontier ; and ever
since the first settlement of this country, there have been
large numbers who have believed that the Indians, as
heathens, had no rights which the white men " were bound
to respect."

After the conclusion of peace with the confederate tribes
under Pontiac, the pioneers committed some of the most
barbarous murders along the frontiers of Pennsylvania and
Virginia, and it required many presents, and the greatest
efforts of those in authority, to pacify the Indians, and save
the country from a renewal of the war.

Upon this subject, Colonel Johnson, the British Indian
agent, wrote to his government as early as June 28, 1766,
that the war " was no sooner terminated at a considerable
loss and expense, than the frontier inhabitants, from Virginia
to this province (New York) (though they shewed but little

I

92 UPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

alacrity at the time they ought), began, under the specious
pretense of revenge, but in violation of the British faith, to
murder, rob, and otherwise grossly misuse all Indians they
could find in small parties, either on their way to or from
the southward, or trading amongst them ; whilst those who
avoided imbruing their hands in blood added fuel to their
jealousy by encroaching upon their rights, and treating the
Indians with contempt, much greater than they had ever
before experienced. This has at length thoroughly con-
firmed their opinion that we projected their ruin."

Colonel Johnson, who had become well acquainted with
Indian character, writes further, in the same dispatch :
" Our people in general are very ill calculated to maintain
friendship with the Indians ; they despise those in peace,
whom they fear to meet in war. This, with the little arti-
fices used in trade, and the total want of that address and
seeming kindness practiced with such success by the French,
must always hurt the colonists. On the contrary, could they
but assume a friendship, and treat them with civility and
candor, we should soon possess their hearts, and much more
of their country than we shall do in a century by the con-
duct now practiced."

The encroachments upon the Indian rights increased from
bad to worse, until 1774, when Captain Cresap, with a party
near Wheeling, Virginia, murdered the whole family of
Captain John Logan, a friendly chief of the Cayuga band
of the Iroquois, who rallied his warriors and retaliated with
fearful vengeance, until the fall of the year, when he was
defeated in a battle at Point Pleasant, by 1,500 Virginians,
and finally pacified by Lord Dunmore. It was at this treaty
that Logan delivered the following gpeech, for which Presi-
dent Jefferson has immortalized him, by quoting it in his
"Notes on Virginia:"

" I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered
Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat ; if ever he
came cold and naked, and he clothed him not. During the

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 93

course of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle
in his cabin, an advocate of peace. Such was my love for
the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed,
and said, ' Logan is the friend of white men.' I had even
thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one
man, Colonel Cresap, the last spring, who in cold blood,
and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not
even sparing my women and children. There runs not a
drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This
called on me for revenge. I have sought it ; I have killed
many ; I have fully glutted my vengeance ; for my country
I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbor a
thought that mine is the joy of fear; Logan never felt fear.
He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there
to mourn for Logan ? Not one."

In this state of animosity were the western Indians at the
commencement of our revolutionary war. Colonel William
Johnson, the British agent, died July 11, 1774, and his son-
in-law, Guy Johnson, was appointed by the king his suc-
cessor. He had been in the Indian department for nearly
twenty years, and was scarcely as humane as the Indians
themselves, as subsequent events showed. The British
government early determined to make allies of the Indians,
to help suppress the rebellion in America, and, July 24,
1775, the Earl of Dartmouth instructed Colonel Guy John-
son that " the unnatural rebellion now raging there calls for
every effort to suppress it; and the intelligence his majesty
has received of the rebels having excited the Indians to
take a part, and of their having actually engaged a body of
them in arms to support their rebellion, justifies the resolu-
tion his majesty has taken, of requiring the assistance of his
faithful adherents the Six Nations. It is therefore his ma-
jesty's pleasure, that you do lose no time in taking such
steps as may induce them to take up the hatchet against his
majesty's rebellious subjects in America, and to engage
them in his majesty's service, upon such plan as shall be

94 UPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

suggested to you by General Gage, to whom this letter is
sent, accompanied with a large assortment of goods for
presents to them upon this important occasion."

The colonial congress at Philadelphia, July 12th, 1775,
determined to establish three departments of Indian affairs,
the northern, middle, and southern ; the northern to include
the Six Nations and ah1 other tribes to the northward of
them ; and that commissioners should be appointed, " with
powers to treat with the Indians in their respective depart-
ments, to preserve peace and friendship, and to prevent
their taking any part in the present commotion."

In the northern department the following commissioners
were appointed: Major General Philip Schuyler, Major
Joseph Hawley, Mr. Turbot Francis, Mr. Oliver Wolcott,
and Mr. Volkert P. Douw.

Messrs. Douw and Francis met the Six Nations at German
Flats, August 15th, 1775, acquainted them that twelve
colonies had united, and invited the Indians to Albany, to
hold a council, August 25th, of the same year. A general
council was accordingly held at Albany, at which the
Indians were told that " this is a family quarrel between us
and old England. You Indians are not concerned in it.
We don't wish you to take up the hatchet against the king's
troops. We desire you to remain at home, and not join
either side, but keep the hatchet buried deep." To which
the Indians replied that Colonel Johnson, at Oswego, had
also requested them to remain neutral, and they promised
to follow the wishes of both parties in respect to neutrality.

Colonel Johnson, however, stated in his dispatch to the
British government, that he was " threatened with an
attack from the colonists, and left for Ontario the last of
May, at which place he held a council with the Indians
soon after, " who agreed to defend the communication, and
assist his majesty's troops in their operations."

In the beginning of July, Colonel Johnson left for Mon-
treal with two hundred and twenty Indians and tories ; and

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 95

at the latter place, the last of that month, assembled 1,700
Indians of the northern confederacy, who promised also to
assist his majesty's troops. The Indians did some skirmish-
ing that summer and fall, near St. Johns, and thirty-two
officers and men of Colonel Johnson's department, and some
of his Indians, assisted in the capture of Colonel Ethan
Allen, three miles from Montreal, September 25th; but
General Carlton, in command of Canada, refused to allow
Colonel Johnson to send Indians south of Canada line, to
the great disgust of Colonel Johnson and his Indian allies;
whereupon Colonel Johnson, to settle the limits" of his com-
mand, visited England with an Indian delegation the fol-
lowing winter, and returned to Staten Island, New York,
July 29th, 1776. During this year the Indians assembled
in considerable numbers at Niagara and in Canada, but
were little employed.

The Indian campaign for 1777 was organized in Canada
by Daniel Glaus, the newly- appointed Indian agent for the
northern department, by assigning the domiciliated Indians
of Canada to the expedition of General Burgoyne, to
advance up Lake Champlain, while the Six Nations and
western Indians joined the expedition of General St. Ledger,
which advanced into western New York, and laid siege to
Fort Stanwix.

Soon after the commencement of the siege, General
Ledger, hearing of the advance of General Herkimer for the
relief of the fort, sent forward a large force of soldiers and
all the Indians, and waylaid General Herkimer on the 6th
of August, entirely defeating his force, with the loss of
General Herkimer and over 400 of his troops. In the mean
time a sortie was made from the fort, which captured the
entire Indian baggage and most of their clothes, as the
Indians had gone to attack General Herkimer nearly naked.
This so discouraged the Indians that they fell off by degrees,
and General St. Ledger hearing of General Arnold's force,
which was coming to the relief of the fort, retreated to

96 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Oswego, from which point General St. Ledger, on the 26th
of August, was ordered -to join General Burgoyne, which
closed the western campaign. General Burgoyne, still
more unfortunate, was forced to surrender his entire army,
October 17th, at Saratoga.

At the close of the campaign of 1777, a special effort was
made by the Indian agents to rally the north-western
Indians for the following year, for the British service.
Captain De Peyster, the commandant at Mackinaw, secured
the services of Charles De Langlade, of Green Bay, and
many other popular Indian traders; and a considerable
force of all the Wisconsin and other north-western Indians
was sent to Oswego, and the sequel may be found in the
dispatch of Colonel Guy Johnson, the Indian agent, of
September 6th, 1778, where he says: "Your lordships
will have heard before this can reach you, of the successful
incursions of the Indians and loyalists from the northward.
In conformity to the instructions I conveyed to my officers,
they assembled their force early in May, and one division,
under one of my deputies (Mr. Butler) proceeded with
great success down the Susqueharma, destroying the posts
and settlements at Wyoming, augmenting their number with
many loyalists, and alarming all the country; whilst another
division, under Mr. Brandt, the Indian chief, cut off two
hundred and ninety-four men near Schoharie, and destroyed
the adjacent settlements, with several magazines from
whence the rebels had derived great resources."

This victory is known over the civilized world as the
" Wyoming Massacre," and being specially directed and
controlled by the British officers and British troops, who
were known to have been more savage than the Indians
themselves, the English people should never thereafter com-
plain of Indian cruelty.

It was after the close of this barbarous campaign, that
Governor Haldimand, of Canada, presented Cha-kaw-cha-
ka-ma, or the Old King of the Menominie Indians, a medal,

THE INDIAN TKIBES, ETC. 97

with the date of August 17, 1778, which has been deposited
in the cabinet of the Historical Society of Wisconsin.

During this year, Colonel G. R. Clarke, with a force from
Virginia, captured the Illinois country ; and during the fol-
lowing winter, Lieuten ant-Governor Hamilton, of Detroit,
planned an expedition for its recovery. For that purpose,
their Indian allies were again summoned with the " war
belt " to meet in council at L'Arbre Croche, to go again on
the war-path. Again, Captain De Peyster, the commandant
at Mackinaw, rallied his Indian traders, and De Langlade
and others sang the war-song, danced the war-dance, and
distributed tlie fire-water, and in due time the bold warriors
of Wisconsin and Michigan were on their way to attack the
" Long-knives /" but when they reached St. Josephs, at the
head of Lake Michigan, they learned with sorrow that
Colonel Clarke had turned upon his pursuers, and Governor
Hamilton and his soldiers were prisoners of war, in the
hands of the " Long-knives." Upon this the war party
returned home.

Early in 1779 large bodies of Indians assembled in the
heart of New York, under the deputy agent, Mr. Butler, for
the purpose of reenacting the " Wyoming Massacre " on the
western frontier, but were attacked by General Sullivan with
nearly 5,000 American troops, driven to Canada, and forty
Indian villages burned, and the Indian country laid waste.
The exasperated Americans took no prisoners, but warriors,
squaws, papooses and loyalists were'alike fortunate in find-
ing a common grave. Late in the fall, Colonel Guy Johnson
attempted to make another Indian campaign, but was de-
layed by a storm on the Lake, and finally stopped by orders
to go into winter quarters. This order found on the hands
of Mr. Johnson, as he wrote, November 11, 1779, 2,628
Indians, whose country was devastated, and who must be
supported at the public expense.

In the spring of 1780 Colonel Johnson colonized many of
his Indian allies on the " route to Ohio," where they could
7

98 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

"plant," and thereby greatly lessen the government ex-
penses. During this year and the folloAving, he carried on
the " Petite Guerre " warfare against the western frontier,
" which," he wrote, " has compelled the latter (rebels) to
contract their frontier, and confine themselves within little
forts." During these two years, Colonel Johnson appears
to have had of the New York and Canada Indians all that
he could feed and employ, and we find no evidence that he
called down the north-western tribes.

The campaign of 1781, and the surrender of Cornwallis
October 19, of that year, virtually closed the war, and
quieted the fears of the mothers and children along our
extensive frontier of nearly 3,000 miles, which for seven
years had echoed with the merciless war-whoop of the
Indian, and the more savage counterfeit of the tories.

The treaty of peace between Great Britain and the
United States, signed September 3, 1783, did not adjust the
differences between the United States and the various
Indian tribes, which had grown out of the revolution ; and
the British, more bold than the French after the surrender
of Canada, refused to yield up to the United States the
western military posts, and reenacted the Pontiac conspir-
acy. The new chief around which the Indians rallied was
Michikinigua, or the " Little Turtle," the head chief of the
Miamies. Colonel John Johnson, one of the leaders of the
Iroquois of New York, during the revolution, was made
Indian agent, and Major Matthews commandant at Detroit;
and that post became the central rendezvous for Brant and
other leaders of the Iroqviois, who had displayed such fear-
ful barbarity during the late war, and who had been colon-
ized in Ohio and Canada. Here was organized, by British
advice, the new Indian confederacy, composed of the-
Hurons, Delawares, Shawnees, Miamies, Kickapoos,Ottawas,
Chippeways, Potowatomies, and Iroquois, under the nominal
leadership of " Little Turtle," although, in fact, the British
not only directed the movements of the confederacy, but

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC.

furnished the Indians an abundance of arms and ammuni-
tion.

A grand council of this confederacy was held at the mouth
of Huron river, a little below Detroit, in December, 1786,
and another soon after, in which the Indians, under British
advice, insisted on the Ohio river as the old boundary line,
notwithstanding they had allied themselves against the
United States, and been defeated in the revolutionary war.

The north-western territory had been organized by Con-
gress, July 13, 1787, and Major-General Arthur St. Clair
was appointed Governor of the territory in October follow-
ing. He made great exertions to pacify the Indians, and
drew part of the Indian confederacy to make a treaty Jan-
uary 9, 1789, at Fort Harmer, but it was repudiated by. the
confederacy, and consequently no further attention was paid
to its provisions. Governor St. Clair finally, believing that
no peace could be established until the Indians were de-
feated, and the British forced to show their hands in their
Indian intrigues, July 15, 1790, in pursuance of an order of
the President, of the previous 6th of October, called on
Virginia for 1,000, and Pennsylvania for 500 militia, to
cooperate with the few regular troops on the Ohio, in sup-
pressing the Indian hostilities.

These forces advanced upon and burnt several Indian
villages, and a large amount of corn in October of the same
year, but two of its detachments were defeated by the
Indians, and the army returned to Fort Washington at Cin-
cinnati. This expedition only exasperated the Indians, and
they renewed their murders with greater violence.

The following year Governor St. Clair, having been ap-
pointed commander-in-chief of all the forces sent against
the Indians, detached General Charles Scott, of Kentucky,
to advance on the Indians upon W abash river, where in
June he took several prisoners, and burned a large quantity
of corn and the village of " Ouiatanon," in which were
several well-built French residences. Colonel Wilkinson

100 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

was then sent with another expedition higher up the Wa-
bash, and reached the mouth of Eel river on the 7th of
August, where he burned a village, cut up a large quantity
of corn, and took a few prisoners.

Governor St. Clair, having collected together his main
army, numbering over 2,300, advanced from Fort Washing-
ton September 17, 1791, and reached a branch of the
Wabash with only about 1,400 men. Here, on the 4th of
November, he was boldly attacked by the confederate forces,
and completely defeated with great loss. The fugitives
retreated to Fort Jefferson, twenty-nine miles distant, which
they reached before dark of the same day, the Indians hav-
ing pursued them only four miles.

Nearly two years, following this defeat, were spent in
fruitless negotiations with the Indians, and at last, August
13, 1793, at a general council held atMaumee, they decided
that their ultimatum boundary line was the Ohio river.

Some years after this council, the notorious Brandt, who
had advised that council to conclude a peace with the
United States, said that such a treaty " was opposed by
those acting under the British government, and hopes of
further assistance were given to our western brethren, to
encourage them to insist on the Ohio as a boundary be-
tween them and the United States." The Governor of
Canada was evidently laboring under the impression that by
holding on to Detroit, and fomenting the Indian war, the
United States would, in the end, vary the treaty of 1788,
and extend the British possessions to the Ohio river ; and
he carried that impression in his address to the Indian dele-
gates in February, 1794; but in this he was bound to be
disappointed.

In the spring of 1794 a new enemy of the United States
appeared, from the Spanish settlements of the Mississippi,
offering the aid of Spain to the Indians, if they would con-
tinue their war against the United States. Thus advised
and led on by the crafty, civilized nations of Europe, the

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 101

poor, ignorant red man renewed the war-whoop, and rushed
forward to inevitable destruction. General Anthony Wayne,
the hero of Stony Point, was appointed to succeed General
St. Clair over the western troops, and spent the winter of
1792-3 in drilling his troops at Legionville, and moved
down to Fort Washington, in May, 1793, where -he spent the
summer of that year. Having received news of the failure
of the commissioners to negotiate a peace, he left Fort
Washington, October 7th, and on the 13th of the same
month encamped six miles in front of Fort Jeiferson, and
named his camp Fort Greenville, where he spent the winter.
During the winter and spring of 1794, General Wayne
erected Fort Recovery on St. Clair's battle-ground, buried
six hundred skulls found on the ground, and made every
proper arrangement for the summer campaign.

" Little Turtle" opened the campaign by attacking Fort
Recovery, June 30th, with some 1,500 warriors and some
British volunteers, but was finally driven off. July 26th,
General Scott arrived from Kentucky with a reinforcement
of 1,600 mounted militia, and in two days thereafter, Gen-
eral Wayne commenced his advance, and, on the 20th of
August, met the Indians in force on the north bank of the
Maurnee river. The Indians were formed in three lines,
with their left resting on the river, and right extending two
miles, at right angles with the river, to a very thick brush-
wood.

General Scott was ordered to charge the Indians' right
flank, and Captain Campbell the left, while the infantry,
with trailed arms, were ordered to rouse the Indians from
their coverts with the bayonet, and then deliver their fire as
the Indians retreated. Such was the impetuosity of the
charge of the infantry, that but part of General Scott's
mounted force could get in position so as to take part in
the battle. In one hour, the entire Indian force was driven
two miles, and their defeat was complete, leaving the
ground strewed with dead bodies, among which were found

102 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

many Canadians, armed with British muskets and bayonets.
About seventy of the Canadian militia were in the battle
with the Indians. This battle was fought in sight of the
new British fort, and the American troops burned the
houses and stores belonging to the Indians and Canadians,
as well as the house and store of McKee, the British agent,
under the guns of the fort. This was the severest defeat
ever received by the western Indians. After this battle,
General Wayne laid waste the Indian country, and retired
to Fort Greenville, to winter quarters.

Governor Simcoe, of Canada, knowing that the Indians
would probably sue for peace after so severe a defeat,
sought to forestall peace negotiations, by calling a coun-
cil on the 10th of October of the same year, at which he
urged the Indians to still insist on the Ohio river as the
boundary line, and advised them to convey their lands to the
king, so as to give the British a pretext for assisting them.
and accompanied his advice with promises of large presents;
but the Indians were divided in council as to the proper
course for the future, and finally, on the 24th of January,
1795, the preliminary terms were agreed upon by a. large
delegation, who met General Wayne at Fort Greenville.

The new treaty between the United States and Great
Britain was signed by Mr. Jay and others, November 19th,
1794, and finally ratified by the president, August 14th of
the following year, by which the British agreed to surrender
the north-western posts to the United States.

The British agents had continued to tamper with the
Indians to induce them to renew the war, but the news of
the treaty between Great Britain and the United States
much abated their zeal, and the Indians finally assembled in
great numbers, and concluded a treaty with General Wayne,
August 3rd, 1795, by which they agreed to surrender all
prisoners, and consented to the following boundary line :
" Beginning at the mouth of Cuyahoga river, and run thence
up the same to the portage between that and the Tuscar-

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 103

a was branch of the Muskingum ; thence down that branch
to the crossing place above Fort Lawrence ; thence west-
erly to a fork of that branch of the great Miami river, run-
ning into the Ohio, at or near which fork stood Loromie's
store, and where commences the portage between the Miami
of the Ohio and St. Mary's river, which is a branch of the
Miami which runs into Lake Erie ; thence a westerly course
to Fort Recovery, which stands on a branch of the Wabash ;
then south-westerly in a direct line to the Ohio, so as to
intersect that river opposite the mouth of Kentucke or
Cuttawa river."

The Indians also ceded to the United States the follow-
ing tracts, viz. : "(1.) One piece of land, six miles square, at
or near Loromie's store before mentioned. (2.) One piece,
two miles square, at the head of the navigable water or
landing on the St. Mary's river, near Girty's town. (3.)
One piece, six miles square, at the head of the navigable
water of the Au-Glaize river. (4.) One piece, six miles
square, at the confluence of the Au-Glaize and Miami rivers,
where Fort Defiance now stands. (5.) One piece, six miles
square, at or near the confluence of the rivers St. Mary's
and St. Joseph's, where Fort Wayne now stands, or near it.
(6.) One piece, two miles square, on the Wabash river, at
the end of the portage from the Miami of the lake, and
about eight miles westward from Fort Wayne. (7.) One
piece, six miles square, at Outanon or old Weea towns, on
the Wabash river. (8.) One piece, twelve miles square, at
the British fort on the Miami of the lake, at the foot of the
rapids. (9.) One piece, six miles square, at the mouth of
the said river,* where it empties into the lake. (10.) One
piece, six miles square, upon Sandusky lake, where a fort
formerly stood. (11.) One piece, two miles square, at the
lower rapids of Sandusky river. (12.) The post of Detroit,
and all the land to the north, the west, and the south of it,
of which the Indians' title has been extinguished by gifts or
grants to the French or English governments ; and so much

104 UPPEE MISSISSIPPI.

more land to be annexed to the district of Detroit as shall
be comprehended between the River Rosine on the south,
Lake St. Clair on the north, and a line, the general course
whereof shall be six miles distant from the west end of
Lake Erie and Detroit river. (13.) The post of Michilli-
mackinack, and all the land on the island on which that post
stands, and the mainland adjacent, of which the Indian title
has been extinguished by gifts or grants to the French or
English governments ; and a piece of land on the main, to
the north of the island, to measure six miles on Lake Huron,
or the strait between Lakes Huron and Michigan, and to
extend three miles back from the water of the lake or strait ;
and also the Island De Bois Blanc, being an extra and
voluntary gift of the Chipewa nation. (14.) One piece of
land, six miles square, at the mouth of Chikago river
emptying into the south-west end of Lake Michigan, where
a fort formerly stood. (15.) One piece, twelve miles square,
at or near the mouth of Illinois river emptying into the Mis-
sissippi. (16.) One piece, six miles square, at the old
Peorias fort and village, near the south end of the Illinois
lake, on said Illinois river."

The United States, by article fourth of the treaty, relin-
quish to the Indians all their claim to lands from said
boundary line to the Mississippi, except the following :

" 1st. The tract of one hundred and fifty thousand acres
near the rapids of the Ohio, which has been assigned to
General Clark, for the use of himself and his warriors.

" 2nd. The post of St. Vincennes on the river W abash,
and the lands adjacent, of which the Indian title has been
extinguished.

" 3rd. The lands at all other places in possession of the
French people and other white settlers among them, of
which the Indian title has been extinguished as mentioned
in the 3rd article ; and

" 4th. The post of Fort Massac, towards the mouth of the
Ohio. To which several parcels of land so excepted, the

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 105

said tribes relinquish all the title and claim which they or
any of them may have."

This treaty, so important to the north-west, was signed
by the number of chiefs and warriors of the different tribes
as follows: Wyandots or Hurons, 10; Delawares, 14;
Shawnees, 9 ; Ottawas, 7 ; Chippeways, 1 1 ; Potowatomies,
of St. Josephs, 22, and of Huron 7 ; Miamies, 5 ; Eel river
band, 1 ; Weeas, for themselves and Piaukaskias, 3 ; Kick-
apoos and Kaskaskias, 3 ; Delawares, of Sandusky, 3. In
the treaty at Fort Harmar in 1789, by a part of these tribes,
the Sacs were named, but none were named in the treaty
of General Wayne.

It has been customary for authors to name all the Wis-
consin Indians as belonging to this confederacy, but I find
no evidence that the Winnebagoes, Menoniinies, Foxes,
Sioux or Chippeways, of Lake Superior, took any definite
part, although a few individuals of each tribe might have
done so ; but as the war between the Chippeways of the
north, and the Sioux and their allies, the Sacs, Foxes, Win-
nebagoes, and Menoniinies of the south, was then raging, it
is quite probable that the Wisconsin Indians, strictly speak-
ing, should not be regarded as beloitging to " Little Tur-
tle's " confederacy. Even the two Sacs who signed the
treaty at Fort Harmar, were probably insignificant warriors,
as their names do not appear in any subsequent treaties
with that tribe.

The difficulties which were fomenting between England,
France, and the United States, during the wars of Napo-
leon, threatening every year to culminate in an open and
bloody war between the United States on one side, and
alternately with France or England on the other, tended to
keep the partisans of the two latter nations, in the west, in
constant communication with the various Indian tribes ; and
in that intercourse, being further moved upon by the rivalry
of trade, they neglected nothing which would prejudice the
7*

106 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Indians against the Americans, and prepossess them in
favor of the English and French.

Tecumseh and his twin brother, Elskwatawa, of the
Shawnee tribe, were the two who constituted themselves as
the leaders, to regenerate their race ; — the former as war
chief, and the latter as prophet. The plan of Tecumseh
and his brother was certainly a good one to prejudice the
Indians against the Americans, and in favor of both English
and French, and was evidently generated in more civilized
heads.

The prophet preached that while the Great Spirit made
the English, French, and Indians, that he did not make the
Americans, but that the latter grew from the scum of the
great salt water, when it was troubled by the evil spirit, and
the froth was driven into the woods by a strong east wind ;
and that the Great Spirit hates the Americans, as the chil-
dren of the evil spirit. Among other things, the prophet
taught the Indians that they must not give the Americans
meat, nor sell them their land, and that each tribe must
send two delegates to be instructed in the faith by the
prophet, or else the tribe would be cut off from the face of
the earth. All were, positively prohibited from divulging
the faith to the Americans, under the penalty of death.

Thus, armed with the new religion and the tomahawk, no
uncommon weapons in the civilized world, they commenced
proselyting among all the tribes west to the Rocky moun-
tains, and two old chiefs of the Delawares, and one of the
Wyandots, were known to have been tomahawked by order
of the prophet, for refusing to be converted. The new
faith found converts among all the western tribes from
about 1805 to 1811.

The. conduct of the Shawnees, and that of the prophet
and Tecumseh, at their village at Tippecanoe, having
alarmed the Americans, General Harrison, in the fall of
1811, was ordered with 1,200 men to advance 011 the Shaw-
nee town, to ascertain the purposes of the savages. On the

THE nSTDIAK TRIBES, ETC. 107

6th of November he encamped within one mile of the town,
where he met a delegation of Indians, who promised to
meet the General in council the next morning. An hour
before daylight on the morning of the 7th of November, it
being dark and rainy, the Indians suddenly attacked Gen-
eral Harrison's army on all sides, and a fierce and bloody
battle ensued ; but the Americans, having the advantage of
position, steadily held their ground until after daylight, when
the Indians were fiercely charged with the bayonet and the
sword, and routed at every point. Unfortunately for the
Shawnees, Tecumseh was absent at the time, not expecting
so sudden an attack by General Harrison, and his shrill
voice was not there to direct the movements of the over-
ardent warriors.

Thus prepared in advance for the war which was de-
clared the following June against Great Britain, it required
only the war-whoop to rally the thousands of fierce warriors
to the deadly strife. Although war was declared the 18th
of June, news of the declaration did not reach Governor
Hull, at Detroit, until July 2nd, and not until some days
after the news was possessed by the British at Maiden, in
Canada, opposite Detroit ; which enabled the British to
capture General Hull's baggage on its way to Detroit.

Colonel Robert Dickson, an old English trader at Prairie
du Chien, and British Indian agent, had so well anticipated
the progress of events, that with a large Indian force of
Sioux, Winnebagoes, Menominies and others, he reached
Mackinaw, and with some forces from the east, captured that
post on the 17th of July, and communicated to Lieutenant
Hanks, its commandant, the first news he had of the decla-
ration of war.

Governor Hull, fearing a similar fate to the fort at
Chicago, ordered Captain Heald to evacuate that post, and
take his command to Detroit. Accordingly, that fort was
evacuated on the morning of the 15th of August, but
Captain Heald and his party were attacked by the Poto-

108 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

watomies soon after they left the fort ; fifty men, women
and children were killed, and the balance taken prisoners.

After the capture of Mackinaw, Colonel Dickson returned
to Green Bay, when he sent messages to other tribes, and
among the rest, to the Sacs and Foxes at Rock Island, and
to the Potowatomies, to collect parties and meet him at the
Bay, and receive presents, guns and ammunition.

The Sac chief, with two hundred warriors, reached the
bay, was feasted and armed by Colonel Dickson, and
appointed brigadier-general of the Indian forces. The fol-
lowing day, Colonel Dickson, Black Hawk, and about five
hundred warriors, started for Detroit by way of Chicago,
and passed the latter place soon after the massacre of
Captain Heald's party. Tecumseh commanded the Indian
forces near Detroit, at the surrender of General Hull,
August 16th, which numbered about seven hundred
warriors.

The north-western Indians continued in the British
service, under General Proctor, in the region of Detroit
and north-western Ohio, until the defeat of that general
before Fort Stevenson, 011 the Sandusky river, August 1st,
1813, when that general retired to Maiden, and the most of
the north-western Indians, including Black Hawk, and
about twenty of his Sac warriors, returned home disgusted
with the service.. The balance of the Indians, however,
returned to Maiden under Tecumseh, and were finally
defeated by General Harrison, October 5th of that year, at
the battle of the Thames, where the brave Tecumseh and
one hundred and thirty Indian warriors were left dead on
the field.

This serious defeat broke the Tecumseh confederacy,
and, the following year, the most of the hostile bands of the
Miamies, Delawares, Shawnees, Potowatomies, Ottawas,
and Kickapoos, formed a treaty with the United States, in
which they, among other* things, " engaged to give their
aid to the United States in prosecuting the war against

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. Ill

Great Britain, and such of the Indian tribes as still continue
hostile." It should be borne in mind, however, that many
of the bands of the Senecas, Wyandots, Delawares, and
Shawnees, never joined the Tecumseh confederacy, but
fought throughout the war on the American side.

In the summer of 1814, Major Holmes, with a .small force
of Americans, attempted to recapture Mackinaw ; but news
of the expedition reaching Colonel Dickson, who rallied a
large force of Indians from Wisconsin, with some two
hundred Sioux, and most of the Indian traders of Green
Bay, whom he conducted to Mackinaw, and, with the
British troops and traders at that place, successfully resisted
the attack of the Americans ; and Major Holmes, and eleven
others, were killed in the battle which ensued, on the 4th of
August.

Immediately after this affair, the Americans having
taken possession of Prairie Du Chien, Lieutenant-Colonel
William McKay, of the British forces, was dispatched with
a few regulars, two companies of Mackinaw militia under
Captains Rolette and Anderson, and one brass six-pounder,
to recover that post. Colonel Dickson remained at Mack-
inaw to defend the place, but detached two hundred Sioux,
one hundred Winnebagoes, and some Foxes, to accompany
the expedition to Prairie Du Chien. This force recruited
at Green Bay one company of militia, seventy-five Meno-
minies, and twenty-five Chippeways. The expedition
passed the portage and down the Wisconsin in canoes and
bateaux, and laid siege to the Fort at Prairie Du Chien,
which contained about sixty American soldiers, July 17th,
1814. After four days' siege, Lieutenant Perkins surrendered
the fort ; but, in the mean time, the small gun-boat which
contained the ammunition and most of the supplies, had
escaped down the Mississippi.

About the same time, Major Campbell left St. Louis with
a force of United States troops, to reinforce Prairie Du
Chien, but was attacked above Rock Island by Black Hawk

112 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

with an Indian force; one boat was captured, several
soldiers killed, Major Campbell and others wounded, when
the expedition returned to St. Louis. Soon after this affair,
some troops and cannon were sent from Prairie Du Chien
by the British to Rock Island, with a considerable Indian
force, to defend Black Hawk and his band from the attacks
of the Americans.

Major Zachary Taylor, with three hundred troops in
boats, attacked Black Hawk, August 3rd, but were repulsed
with some loss, and Major Taylor and his troops returned
to St. Louis.

The total defeat of the British at New Orleans, January
8th, 1815, by General Jackson, and the ratification of a
treaty of peace in February following, with Great Britain,
again silenced the war-whoop in the Mississippi valley, and
the great tide of immigration that rolled into it the few fol-
lowing years, removed all serious fears of its repetition for
some time to come.

In the history of the Indian tribes in the north-west, set
forth in the last three chapters, the reader will at once per-
ceive that there was a constant rivalry between the govern-
ments of Great Britain, France, and the United States, as
to which of them should secure the services of the bar-
barians, to scalp their white enemies ; while each in turn
were the loudest to denounce the shocking barbarities of
such tribes as they failed to secure in their own service ;
and the civilized world, aghast at these horrid recitals,
ignore the facts that nearly every important massacre in
the history of North America, was organized and directed
by agents of some one of these governments.

The system of warfare in vogue among the Indian nations
of North America at the discovery of the continent, was of
the guerrilla kind, in which the friends of the deceased
organized a raid against their enemies, to revenge their
friends' death, and a few scalps were quite sufficient to
satiate their anger. Hence we learn from Champlain, Mont-

THE INDIAN TRIBES, ETC. 113

calm, and Sir William Johnson, that it required all their
arts of persuasion to keep their Indian allies in the field after
their first skirmish ; and to the civilization of European
warfare are we indebted for the most of our serious mas-
sacres.

The fact that Indians often killed women and children in
war, and murcered some of their prisoners afterwards, has
been taken as evidence that the Indian nature was innately
brutal, and they have ignored the facts that it is not a century
since the British burnt New London, in Connecticut, and
put the garrison of Fort Griswold to the sword; that
Napoleon massacred 3,000 Turkish prisoners, and tui-ned
over the city of Joppa to be sacked by his soldiers, after he
had promised the city protection if they would surrender ;
while, still later, an organized confederacy of whites in the
United States never repudiated the massacre at Fort Pillow,
nor the stai'ving of prisoners at AndersonviUe. We also
ignore the massacre of nearly 2,000 Indians by Governor
Kieft, of New Amsterdam, as early as 1645, in which not a
woman or child was spared.

With this chapter we pass the period in which the north-
western Indians were used as " cats' paws" by rival govern-
ments, and made subservient only to foreign interest ; and
shall hereafter attempt to trace that under - current of
Christian love, which often struggled for the mastery, but
almost uniformly failed, from the effect of governmental
power and interest. We here, also, take the opportunity to
congratulate our readers that, after the close of the war of
1812, we find a change in government policy; and, there-
after, the government acting in harmony with the Christian
interests, to improve the condition of the Indian race.
8

COPTER V.

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS.

THE nominal Christianity of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries was so interwoven with bigotry, politics, supersti-
tion, and legerdemain, that the conscientious Christian of
the present day at times doubts if Christianity then existed
at all among the nations of Europe. To say the least, the
stench of the blood then shed in the name of Jesus, is still
offensive in the nostrils of all civilized society.

Unfortunately for the new world, this Christianity crossed
the ocean, associated with avarice of the nominal pilgrims ;
and the untutored red man received his first lessons of
Christianity from the same men that robbed his wigwam,
and pillaged his corn and the graves of his ancestors. Even
the pilgrims crossed the ocean to murder heretics; and,
consequently, we find Melendez, of Spain, in 1564, the com-
mandant of an expedition that murdered nearly eight
hundred Huguenots in Florida; and De Gourges, of France,
in 1568 the commandant of an expedition that retaliated, by
exterminating the Spaniards, and hanging two hundred of
them on the trees. With little less of cruelty, Catholics,
Episcopalians, Baptists, and Quakers could not be tolerated
in Massachusetts, nor Protestants in Canada ; and a man's
life often poised on the thread whether he believed in tran-
substantiation, predestination, immersion, or preaching for
hire. But with all the faults attributable to nominal Christ-
ianity, Jesus still reigned over his kingdom, which was

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS. 115

" not of this world ;" and the seeds of true Christianity
often germinated with vigor in the wilds of America.

Long before the gentle and pious Elliot had won over the
bold Mohegans to Christianity within ten miles of Boston,
the adventurous Catholic missionaries had converted villages
of Hurons, on the north-eastern shore of Lake Huron, and
had even planted the cross at the Falls of St. Mary, at the
outlet of the great Lake Superior.

The English colonies in America were not planted for
missionary purposes, but were designed more as a refuge
for the persecuted non-conformists of England ; and the
main point for the consideration of the emigrant, was to
make himself a home and a plantation, and secure the
political power of the colony for his own protection against
the mother country. But it was far different with the
colonists of Quebec. Their religion was supreme in France,
and they came to America to establish trade with the Indian
tribes. Agriculture, on the frosty banks of the St. Lawrence,
was but a secondary consideration ; hence, few became
farmers, and the great majority plunged into the forests and /
became the adventurous courrier de bois.

Sieur Champlain had only made a few treaties, and
fought a few battles with the Indian tribes, before he sent
to France for missionaries, and early in 1615 he procured
three priests of the order of the Recollects, and commenced
the missionary work at once. Although the primary object
of the French colony was trade, yet Champlain soon found
that it was no easy matter to successfully carry on trade
with superstitious barbarians, and we may well believe that
it was a happy idea when he conceived the project of Chris-
tianizing the Indians, to protect his trade with them. Rev.
Father Dennis Jamay took post at Quebec, John D'Olbeau
hastened to Tadoussac to learn the language of the Algon-
quins, and Father Joseph Le Caron was attached to Sieur
Champlain's war party, then about to set out to explore
Lake Huron. The party reached the lake by the Ottawa

116 UPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

river of Canada, and while the priest was engaged in col-
lecting a vocabulary of the Huron language, Sieur Cham-
plain led an unsuccessful war party of the Hurons and
Algonquins against the Iroquois of New York. The party
returned to Quebec the following summer. In 1622, Rev.
Father Poulain visited the Hurons, and some others from
time to time thereafter, including the Rev. Father Brebeuf,
until July, 1629, when the English took possession of
Canada, and transported to England Sieur Champlain, the
priests, and the principal men of the colony.

Three years after, Canada was restored to France, and
the task of converting the savages assigned to the " Society
of Jesus," and the Recollects refused admission to Canada.
This so grieved the zealous Le Caron that he died of disap-
pointment early in the spring of the same year. 1633 found
the Rev. Father Brebeuf, with several of his Jesuit associ-
ates, returned to Canada, but unfortunately for them, the
allied Hurons and Algonquins, during the absence of the
French, had fought a great battle with the Iroquois of New
York, and been badly defeated ; and becoming alarmed at
their misfortunes, caused by their alliance with the French,
the Hurons were unwilling that the Jesuits should go to the
old missions on Lake Huron, and the Algonquins of Ottawa
river positively refused the missionaries a passage through
their country. Thus matters stood through the following
winter ; but French diplomacy and presents again won over
their old allies, and in 1634 the Rev. Fathers Brebeuf,
Daniel, and Davost, planted themselves in the old mission
on Lake Huron. They commenced their woi'k with great
zeal, but their former power was broken, and they met with
great opposition from the medicine-men of the tribe. To
add to their misfortunes, in the fall of 1636 the Rev. Fathers
Gamier, Chatelain, and Jogues arrived as their assistants,
but accompanying them came that terrible plague to the
Indians, the small-pox. This disease raged with viru-
lence for some years, and in 1637 the missionaries were

FATHER ISAAC JOGUES, S. J.

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS. 119

openly charged with producing this disease by witchcraft, >^
for the destruction of the Indians ; and their cabins were
burned by the infuriated savages, and the missionaries daily
expected to be tomahawked. But Brebeuf having elo-
quently defended himself and his brethren, before an Indian
council in 1638, their principal accuser was tomahawked by
his side, and the priests escaped. In the spring of 1639 the
small-pox was brought in again, and the old charges revived
against the priests, who suffered every thing but death from
the savages. /

The missionary force having increased to thirteen priests,
the following year they began to extend their field of labor
to other tribes, and in the fall of 1641 the Rev. Fathers
Isaac Jogues, and Charles Raymbaut, planted the cross at
the falls of St. Mary, at the outlet of Lake Superior, in an
assembled multitude of 2,000 Chippeways and other nations.

From this time the misfortunes of the missionaries began
to accumulate. Fathers Raymbaut and Jogues returned to
Quebec in the summer of 1642, where the former died with
the consumption, October 22nd; and the latter, in attempt-
ing to return to Lake Huron, was captured by the Iroquois.
He repeatedly ran the gauntlet, had his finger-nails torn
out, and his hands and body otherwise mutilated by the
Mohawks. The Dutch of Albany, hearing of his captivity,
raised a volunteer fund, and sent an agent to redeem him,
but the Indians would not let him go. Having visited
Albany with his captors, he escaped to a vessel in the river,
and the Dutch pacified the infuriated Indians for their loss,
with presents, and the good Father was sent to France.
Here he was received at Court, and the Pope, by a special
dispensation, authorized him to say mass, notwithstanding
his hands were mutilated. While at Albany, he wrote in
elegant Latin a history of his captivity, and of New Neth-
erlands, and sent to France, which was afterwards published.
Having returned to Canada, and a temporary peace having
been made with the Mohawks, Father Jogues, in 1646,

120 UPPEB MISSISSIPPI. ,

returned to the Mohawks, was captured on the way thither

by a war party, was defended by the Wolf 'band, decreed

his liberty by the general council, but privately assassinated

by some of the Bear band the same night, October 18, 1646.

The Iroquois having obtained fire-arms of the Dutch, the

war between them and the allied Hurons and Algonquins,

inaugurated by Sieur Champlain as early as 1610, now

burst upon the Huron country in all its power, and the

Hurons and missionaries alike fell before grim-visaged war.

From 1648 to about 1652, the allied Hurons and Algonquins

were driven out of all the coasts of Lake Huron, and a part

of the remnant took shelter in the dense and tangled forests

of northern Wisconsin ;. while the heroic and devoted

Fathers Brebeuf, Lalamant, Daniel, and Gamier, with many

of their neophytes, were massacred by the warlike Iroquois.

A few only followed the surviving priests to Quebec ; but

the greater part of those populous villages, estimated in

1640 as containing 16,000 inhabitants, were either killed or

f taken prisoners. The most of the prisoners were adopted

I into the families of the Iroquois as slaves, many of whom

] were recognized and instructed by Catholic priests in sub-

' sequent years.

Thus nearly perished the great Huron nation, by small-
pox and war, which calamities were directly attributable to
— 1 their contact and alliance with the French. For a time the
north-west was closed against both Christianity and trade,
but as events progressed, and Iroquois war parties dimin-
ished, flotillas of Indian canoes began to reach the trading-
posts near Quebec by the north shore of Lake Huron, and
the Ottawa river from the distant shores of Lakes Michigan
and Superior. The missionaries sought the first opportunity
to return with the Indians to their distant homes, and that
opportunity oifered in 1656. The Rev. Fathers Garreau and
Druilletes, with a party of traders, left with the Indians for
the north-west. The brutality of the Indians induced the
traders to leave the expedition at the Three Rivers j but the

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS. 121

bold missionaries having gone on, the expedition was soon
after attacked by a war party of the Iroquois, and the good
Father Garreau mortally wounded and taken prisoner ; and
Father Druilletes, having been abandoned by the Ottawas,
returned to Quebec.

Time chafed the pious hearts of the missionaries until
1660, when sixty canoes arrived from the far-off' Superior,
and volunteers hastened to return with the Indians to their
homes. Two good Fathers left with the returning expedi-
dion, but one abandoned it at Montreal, having been turned
out of the canoe by the "fantastic humor of one of the
savages," but the other, Rev. Father Rene" Me'nard, one of
the survivors of the old Huron mission, was suffered to
proceed. Writing to his superior under date of August 27,
1660, Father Me'nard said: "In three or four months you

/may place me to the memory of J;he dead, as a consequence
of the manner of life of these people, my age, and feeble
constitution ; notwithstanding which, I have felt such pow-
erful instincts, and I have seen in this business so little of
nature, that I can not doubt that having failed to take
advantage of this occasion, I should feel therefor an eternal

y\ remorse."

\ The expedition took the usual route up the Ottawa river,
thence to the Georgian bay, and along the north shore of
Lake Huron to St. Mary, and thence along the south shore
of Lake Superior to the Kewenaw bay, called by him St.
Theresea Bay, where he arrived, October 15, 1660, after a
long and fatiguing voyage of nearly seven weeks, in a bark
canoe. Here for a time he was permitted to lodge with
Pike, the chief of the band, but having offended the proud
chief, he was turned out, and forced to construct a cabin of
pine boughs, in which he spent the winter, and nearly \
perished with cold and hunger ; and sustained life with
pounded fish-bones and boiled moss.

Learning that a remnant of the Hurons, his old acquaint-
ances and friends, were located on the Black river in Wis-
8*

\

J-VTI\A-»VJ y w v c/W«»CA-{>f
122 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

consin, he resolved to visit them at all hazards ; and June
13, 1661, he set out with one Frenchman and some Huron
guides to visit them. They passed the iron and copper
mountains of the northern peninsula of Michigan, the barren
regions of the head waters of the Wisconsin river, and
reached a small lake at the head of Black river. Here the
Huron guides left the Father and went forward, promising
to send back assistance. He remained fifteen days, and as
provisions failed and no help came, they found a canoe hid
in the brushwood, and started down the river. The low
stage of water, and the interminable rapids between Rock
creek and Black river falls, made the navigation very
tedious. At the last important rapid, which was probably
the latter falls, the Father passed round on the bank
through thick pines, while the assistant Frenchman took the
canoe over the falls; after which, looking round for the
Father, he was not in sight. Guns were fired, but he
responded not, and was never afterwards heard from. Thus
ended the life of the good Me"nard, about the 10th of August,
after twenty-one years of missionary life among the Indians
of North America. The following year some savages found
his sack, and some of the furniture used in his chapel was
seen in an Indian wigwam ; but none of them would ever
acknowledge that they had seen his body, and it is very
probable that he became bewildered in the thick pines, and
wandering off, was devoured by the wolves or other wild
beasts.

For four years subsequent to the loss of Me'nard, the
north-west echoed to no Christian song ; but Christianity
lives although its disciples perish, and 1665 found the Rev.
Father Claude Allouez impatiently waiting at the " Three
Rivers," for an opportunity to follow the example of his
predecessor, and plant again the standard of the cross on
the inhospitable shores of the far-off Lake Superior. July
20th, after the pious father had " said a mass devoted to this
project, in honor of Saint Ignatius and Saint Xaviur," he

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS. 123

was greatly delighted at the arrival of a trading expedition
of savages from Lake Superior ; and on the 8th of the fol-
lowing month, he embarked with six French traders and
four hundred savages for the west end of the lake, where
they arrived at the great village of the Hurons and Algon-
quins, at the head of Chagouamigong bay, October 1st,
1665. Here he opened his mission and erected his chapel.
Subsequently, he established other missions along the lake,
and spent a month with the Chippeways at St. Mary, at the
outlet- of Lake Superior.

In 1667 Father Allouez visited Quebec, tarried two days
only, and returned to Lake Superior with Rev. Father Louis
Nicholas, an assistant. The latter soon returned to Canada,
and was succeeded by Rev. Father James Marquette and
Le Boesine, who came out in April, 1668, and were followed
in the summer of 1669 by Rev. Claudius Dablon, as superior
of the missions, who united his labors with Marquette in
the work at Sault St. Mary. In September, Marquette
relieved Allouez at Chagouamigong, at the mission of the
Holy Ghost, and the latter returned to St. Mary.

At the urgent request of some Potowatomies, who had
got into difficulty with some French traders at Green Bay,
the Rev. Father Allouez, left Sault St. Mary for the Bay, to
establish a new mission. With two French companions
and two canoes of Potowatomies, he set out on the 3rd of
November, 1669, and after a perilous voyage, by reason of
the lateness of the season, reached the traders, at the mouth
of Fox river, December 2nd, on the eve of St. Francis
Xavier. The next day he celebrated mass, at which six
Frenchmen at the Bay joined in the devotions with the
father and his two companions.

During the winter and the following spring, he estab-
lished the mission of St. Francis Xavier, near the mouth of
Fox river, and visited and instructed the Winnebagoes,
Menominies, Potowatomies, Sacs, Foxes, Miamis, Mas-
cotens, Kitchigamicks, and Kickapoos, who then inhabited

124 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

the region around Green Bay, and the Fox and "Wisconsin
rivers. Indeed, the father went down the Wisconsin to
within a few miles of the Mississippi. On the 20th of May,
1670, the father left the Bay, with one Frenchman, and
returned to St. Mary. This summer the Rev. Fathers
Gabriel, Druilletes, and Louis Andre, were added to the
mission of the north-west.

In the spring of 1671 the Hurons and Algonquins, at the
mission of the Holy Ghost, having provoked a war with the
Sioux, the latter nation sent back to Marquette the presents
they had received from him, and declared war against the
allied tribes. The consequence was, those tribes all left the
country with Marquette, and the Hurons pitched their wig-
wams on the Island of Mackinaw, and Marquette estab-
lished the mission of St. Ignatius opposite the island, to the
west on the mainland. The Algonquin nations generally
stopped on the Manitoulin island of Lake Huron, where
they came under the care of Father Andre".

September, 1670, found Allouez and his superior, Dablon,
on their way to visit the nations along Green Bay and the
Fox and Wisconsin rivers. After this task was performed,
Father Dablon, the same fall, returned to Quebec, where
he had been appointed superior of all the Canada missions,
and was succeeded, as superior of the north-western mis-
sions, by Rev. Father Henri Nouvel. Andr£ was dispatched
toGreen Bay, to the assistance of Allouez.
ClAJUWlJune, 1673, Jolliet, with Father James Marquette,
were dispatched by the authorities of Canada to discover
and explore the upper Mississippi, which they reached by
the Wisconsin river, June 17th, 1673. They then proceeded
down the river as far as Arkansas, after which they returned
by the Illinois river and Lake Michigan to Green Bay,
where they ai'rived the last of September of the same year.
During the absence of Marquette, he had visited the Indians
at Kaskaskia, and promised to return and establish a mis-
sion among them; but, unfortunately, during his journey

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS. 125

he had contracted chronic diarrhoea, a disease which proved
fatal to so many of our soldiers in the late rebellion, and
was confined at Green Bay with this disease all the summer
of 1674.

Late in the fall, his disease abating, he attempted to return
to Kaskaskia, but was compelled, by the revival^ of his
illness, to spend the winter near Chicago, and only reached
the tribe the following spring, the 8th of April. Although
very weak, he set vigorously at work in instructing the
Indians, and named the mission the " Immaculate Concep-
tion of the Blessed Virgin." On Easter Sunday he cele-
brated the mass in presence of the whole tribe, and soon after
left to return to Mackinaw. He soon became so weak that
he could not help himself, and finally died, and was buried
by his kind companions on the eastern shore of Lake
Michigan. His bones were subsequently removed to Mack-
inaw. Father Marquette was evidently one of the best of
men, and his memory will be ever fresh as long as civiliza-
tion exists in the Mississippi valley.

The Illinois mission having become vacant by the death
of Marquette, the Rev. Father Allouez was assigned to that
post. He left Green Bay the last of October, 1676, to go
by way of Lake Michigan, but winter having set in imme-
diately, they tarried by the way until February, when the
ice became strong. They then put their canoe on the ice,
and, raising sails, made progress down the bay and into a
small bay that led to a portage to Lake Michigan. On the
23rd of March, 1677, they embarked on the latter lake, and
reached the Kaskaskia village, near Peoria, April 27th.
Here he found a large village of three hundred and fifty
cabins, and eight different* tribes of the Illinois ; the Kas-
kaskias having called in the dispersed tribes which had been
scattered by the Iroquois war.

The good father baptized thirty-five children and one
adult, and on the 3rd of May, " in the name of Jesus Christ,"
took possession of ah1 the tribes, and, a few days after,

126 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

returned north. He visited them again in 1673, and re-
mained two years, but abandoned the mission on the arrival
of La Salle, a personal enemy of the Jesuits.

Sieur La Salle reached the Indian village on the Illinois
river in January, 1680, with three Recollect priests, and
built a fort. In the spring he returned to Canada for sup-
plies ; and in September of the same year the Illinois
Indians were attacked by the Iroquois, and the little French
colony fled for Mackinaw.

One of the priests, Father Gabriel, was killed by a strag-
gling war party of Kickapoos ; one, Membra", reached the
north safe, and one, Hennepin, having been dispatched to
explore the upper Mississippi, also returned in safety to
Green Bay, after a short captivity among the Sioux. La
Salle and Father Membr^ returned to the Illinois in January,
1682, and from thence proceeded on their way for the
exploration of the lower Mississippi.

Hitherto, the missions in the north-west had been com-
paratively successful, but they at last began to feel the
effects of the sale of brandy to the Indians, which was
destroying them with great rapidity in the region of Mon-
treal and Quebec. Previous to 1662, the Jesuit priests had
proscribed the sale of intoxicating liquors to the Indians, on
pain of excommunication, and had thereby nearly destroyed
its sale ; but about this time the Governor of Canada inter-
fered, and granted licenses. The Jesuits complained to the
king, and the governor was removed in 1663. His suc-
cessor, Sieur De Mezy, being distasteful to all parties, was
continued in office but a few months, and was succeeded by
Marquis De Talon, as viceroy, who took possession of the
government of Canada in 1665.

The minister in France, in his instructions to De Talon,
dated November 15th, 1664, speaking of the prohibition of
the sale of brandy by the Jesuits, remarked : " This is
doubtless a good principle, but one which is very ruinous to
trade, because the Indians being passionately fond of these

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS. 127

liquors^ instead of coming to trade their peltries with us, go
trade them among the Dutch, who supply them with
brandy. This also is disadvantageous to religion. Having
wherewith to gratify their appetites, they allow themselves
to be catechised by the Dutch ministers, who instruct them
in heresy. The said Bishop of Petrie and the Jesuit Fathers
persist in their first opinions, without reflecting that pru-
dence, and even Christian charity, inculcate closing the eyes
to one evil to avoid a greater, or to reap a good more im-
portant than the evil." According to these views, M.
Talon, the minister of justice in Canada, wrote M. Colbert,
the king's secretary, November, 1666, that he had ordered
to the Indians, " among the rest, the use of liquor, which/
has been prohibited them up to this time."

In 1668, the Rev. Father Pierron, a Jesuit missionary
among the Mohawks, backed by the chiefs of the tribe,
petitioned the Governor of New York for the suppression
of the sale of intoxicating liquors to the Indians. The
Governor, by letter of November 18th, 1668, acknowledged
" the vast amount of liquors that some of Albany take the
liberty to sell to the Indians, causing them thereby to
commit excessive disorders," and declared that he had
" adopted every possible precaution, and shall continue, *
by very certain fines, to restrain and prevent the supplying
the Indians with any excess." These efforts to prevent
" excess " in the sale of liquor' to Indians, amounted to
nothing definite.

The Jesuits of Canada still used ah1 the means in their
power to suppress the traffic, and prevented all the inter-
course possible with the Christian tribes near Quebec and
Montreal, and finally, in 1679, they procured an edict from
the king, which afforded them some temporary assistance ;
but the governor and officials, more or less connected with
the trade, neglected to enforce the edict, and brandy still
composed a large item in every trader's outfit.

In 1716, Rev. Father Lafitan presented a petition to the

128 TIPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Canadian council, for the abolition of the brandy trade, in
•which, among other things, he stated that, " When the peo-
ple (Indians), are intoxicated, they become so furious that
they break and destroy every thing belonging to their
household; cry and howl terribly, and go in quest, like
mad men, of their enemies, to poignard them ; their rela-
tives and friends are not at these times safe from their rage,
and they gnaw even their own noses and ears.

" Disunion and the dissolution of their marriages are
always the result of their debaucheries, in consequence of
the sorrow and despair experienced by their wives on be-
holding themselves robbed by their drunken husbands, who
strip them of every thing in order to obtain drink, and the
products of the chase, even, which belong to them, are taken
away from their husbands by their creditors before arriving
at their village.

" These Indians, loaded with debt and despoiled by their
creditors, who do not leave them even their guns, are often
obliged to abandon the country and go over to the English",
despairing of being able to pay their debts.

" Several of their tribes have been almost wholly de-
stroyed by brandy, particularly the Algonquin nation."

In answer to this petition, the Canadian council "All
agree as to the inconvenience of the trade in brandy, but at
the same time it is necessary." So they refused to prohibit it.

In October, 1729, the Governor of Canada writes the
king that " The toleration his Majesty is pleased to enter-
tain in favor of the distribution of brandy to the Indians, is
so much the more necessary, as that liquor is the sole
allurement that could attract and preserve them to us, and
deprive them of all inducements to go to the English."
Finally, in a dispatch from the King of France, of May 8,
1731, to the Governor of Canada, the king says that he has
" Been pleased to see that Sieur Hocquart does not perceive
any impropriety in his Majesty tolerating the distribution of
brandy to the Indians."

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS. 129

The great success of the early Jesuit missions in the
north-west, indicated an almost certainty of the conversion
of the north-western tribes to Christianity ; but this success
raised a rivalry and hostility that ultimately proved their
ruin. Count' De Frontenac, the Governor of Canada, com-
menced hostilities on the Jesuits at an early date, and in his
dispatch to the king, November 2nd, 1672, he remarked that,
" To speak frankly to you, they think as much about the
conversion of the beaver, as of souls ; for the majority of
their missions are pure mockeries, and I should not think
they ought to be permitted to extend them further until we
see some where a better formed church of those savages."

The enemies of the Jesuits had previously brought into

,w Canada several of the Recollect priests, who had established

a monastery. Sieur La Salle, a particular friend of the

Governor, was also an enemy of the Jesuits, and took with

him Recollect pi'iests to the mission of Illinois.

The hostility to the Jesuits was severely felt by the
society, and they appealed to the king for leave to continue
their noi'th-western mission. The king, by M. Colbert,
wrote to Governor De Frontenac as follows, May 17th, 1674 :
"As to the request of the Jesuits, made to continue their
missions hi the far countiies, his majesty thinks 'twould be
more advantageous, both for the religion, and his service, if
they attended to those more near, and whilst converting the
Indians, led them to civilized society, and to abandon their
manner of living, in which they can never become good
Christians. His majesty, however, does not pretend that
these good Fathers be in any wise circumscribed in their
functions. He merely desires that you would communicate
to them, and gently encourage them to second his majesty's
views."

These views were communicated to the Jesuits by the

Governor, and November 14th, of the same year, the

Governor wrote M. Colbert that the former "Declared

to me that they were here only to endeavor to instruct

9

130 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

the Indians, or rather, to get beaver, and not to be parish
priests to the French." The Governor then urges the send-
ing of more Recollects. But the opposition to the Jesuits
thus early manifested, although it must have embarrassed
them, yet did not stop their eiforts to convert the north-
west. When La Salle went down the Mississippi in 1684,
Rev. Father Allouez, with Father Durantaye as an assistant,
again took possession of his Illinois mission, and when the
survivors of La Salle's expedition returned in 1687, and
reported La Salle also returning, Allouez retired to Green
Bay. After that the good Father opened a mission at St.
Josephs, where he died in August, 1690.

The success which at first had crowned the efforts of the
missionaries under this opposition of the government, brandy,
and the traders began to wane, and in a few years a few con-
verts at each station was all there were left to encourage the
despairing missionaries ; and when the French surrendered
Canada in 1760, there were probably but two missionaries
west of Detroit; and the suppression of the Jesuits in 1763
by the king of France, it is said, left the north-west desti-
tute of a resident Catholic priest for more than thirty years
subsequent to that date. Indeed, as early as 1721, when
the north-west was visited by Charlevoix, the missions had
BO far waned that he wrote : " The fathers are not much
employed, having never found any great docility among
the Ottawas."

Mr. Shea, in his history of the Catholic missions in North
America, has compiled the following tables of the names of
the missionaries to the Hurons, Ottawas, and Illinois, which
probably contain some errors, but are as near the truth as
can be attained at the present day :

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS.

131

LIST OF MISSIONARIES.

HURON MISSIONARIES.

MISSIONARIES.

ARRIVED.

ON MISSION.

DIED.

May 25, 1615..
June, 1819
June 23, 1623 .
June 28, 1623 .

1025 . .

1615-16, 1623-24 . .
1622
1623-25 .,
162=3-24
1620-28....
1626-9, 34-41, 44-9
16-26-27

1632

k. July, 1625
left in 1624
left in 1629
k. Mar. 16, 1649
frozenFeb. 1,1646
k. July 4, 1648
d. at sea in 1643
left after 1670
left in 1650
k. Dec. 7, 1649
d. Aug. 14, 1683
k. Oct. 18, 1646
left Sept., 1666
d. Jan. 26, 1673
d. Nov. 24, 1665
d. Nov. 10, 1665
d. Feb. 21, 1693

d. Oct. -22, 1642
d. after 1668
k. Aug. 1601
k. Sept. 1566
k. Dec. 8, 1649
left Nov. 2, 1«50
k. Mar. 17, 1649
left in 1650
left in 1650
died in China

2 William Poulain, Kec
3 Nicholas Viel Rec

4 Theodat Sagard, L. B

6 John de Brebeuf S. J

June 19, 1625.
July 14, 1626 .
June 24, 1633.
June 24, 1633.
July 20, 1635 .
July 10, 1635 .
June 11, 1636.
June 11, 1636.
July 2, 1636 ..
June 28, 1636.
Aug. 26, 1638.
1683
1638

1634-36, 1638-48 . .
1634-36

10 Francis Lemercier
11 Peter Pijart

1685-50

1635-44 ...

12 Charles Gamier

1636-49

13 Peter Chastellain

1086-50

14 Isaac Jogues
15 Paul Ragueneau

1636-42

1637-40, 1641-50 . .
1638-45

17 Simon le Moyne

1638-50 ?

K538-41

19 P. J. M. Chaumonot
20 Joseph A. Poncet

Aug. 1, 1639..
Aug. 1, 1(539..

1639-50

1639-40, 1645-50
1040-42

21 Charles Raymbaut
22 Claude Pijart

1637
July 14, 1637 .
July 8, 1640 ..

1640-50

23 Rene Menard

1641-50

24 Leonard Garreau

Aug. 15, 1613.
Aug. 15, 1(543.
1042

1644-50

25 Natalis Chabanel

1644-49

26 Franc. J. Bressani

1645-49

27 Gabriel Lalemant

Sept. 20, 1646.
Aug. 6, 1640..
Aug. 14, 1647.
Aug. 14, 1647.

1648-49

28 Adrian Daran
29 James Bonin

1648-50

164S-50

30 Adrian Grelon...

1648-50...

OTTAWA MISSIONARIES.

MISSIONARIES.

ARRIVED.

TIME ON MISSION.

1 Isaac Jouges, S. J

July 2, 1636 . .

1642

2 Charles Raymbaut

1637
July 8, 1640 ..

642
1600-61

July 11, 1658 .

1605-89

5 Louis Nicholas

May 25, 1663 .

1667-68

Sept. 20, 1666.

1668-75

7 Claude Dablon
8 Louis Andre

1655

1668-71
1669-79*

9 Gabriel Druillettes

Aug. 15, 1643.

1669-80

10 Henry Nouvel

Aug. 4, 1662..

1671-1700*

11 Charles Albanel

Aug. 23, 1649 .

1678-88*

June 25, 1647.

1675-88*

13 Philip Pierson

Sept. 25, 1667.

1675-81*

14 Anthonv Silvv. . .

1676-78*

k. Oct. 1(546
Oct. 22, 1642
k. Aug. 1661
about Aug. 1690

d. May 19, 1675
d. April 8, 1681

UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

OTTAWA MISSIONARIES— (continued).

MISSIONARIES.

ARRIYKD.

TIME ON MISSION.

DIED.

1676-79*

1 678-88*

17 Nicholas Potier

16 -84

1688f . .

1706

168St 1703*

20 Stephen de Carheil
21 James Joseph Marest

Aug. 6, 1666..

16S8-M703*
1700-M712*

July, 1726

22 J. B. Chardon

1721 22

24 Peter M. Guignas

1728-30

25 0. M. Messaiger

1724

26 J. B. Larnorinie

1749-50

27 Justinian la Uichardie

28 Marin Louis Lefranc

till 1764

29 Pierre Dujaunay

1764

80 Peter Potier. . .

1751-f-Sl...

d. July 16. 1781

* And perhaps later.

t And perhaps earlier.

ILLINOIS MISSIONARIES.

MISSIONARIES.

ARRIVED.

WHEN IN ILLINOIS.

BIRD.

1 James Marquette, S. J

Sept. 20, 1666.
July 11, 1658 .
Aug. 1670
June, 1675.. ..
June 16, 1672?
Oct. 13, 1689 .

1673-75

1677, 1679-87
1680
1680
16S7-1706

May 19, 1075
about Aug. 1690
k. Sept. 19, 16SO
k. l(Wt>-7
k. about 1706
k. Aug. 23, 1724
d. before 1712

d. before 1711
d. 1742

d. April 4, 1731

d. April 17, 1752

k. 1730
d. after Aug. 1750

d. after 1768

8 Gabriel de la Kibourde, Rec . . .
4 Zenobius Membre

1001-92

1700 1703

8 Gabriel Marest

1700, 1703, 1712
1700, 1703. 1712
1700

1700
1700
1700, 1703, 1721
1700, 1707, 1710
1712
1712-18?

13 John B Chardon

14 John Bergier, Priest of F.M.. ..

15 Louis Mary de Ville S. J

16 Dominic Mary Varlet, F.M

1721
1721
1721
1721
1719

18 — dc Kercben

21 G. Calvarin, F. M

22 D. A. R. Taumur de la Source, )
P.M. ,ord. Feb. 1717 j

1721

1721

1730 ..

23 John le Mercier, F. M.; ord. )
May, 1718 j

24 Senat, S. J

1760

26 A. F. X. de Guyenne

1750
1727
1727
1727-46
1750
1750

27 Doutreleau

28 Dumas

1727
1727

30 Vattrin

81 Sebast. L. Meurin

82 Claude F. Virot

on Ohio in 1757
1763

88 Julian Duvernav . . .

THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS. 133

The successful close of our American revolution, and the
adoption of our constitution having established the freedom
of conscience and emancipated the worship of God from
the control of political power, a fruitful field was opened to
the hundreds of Catholic priests, who had fled from France
at the breaking out of the Jacobin revolution in that
country. Arriving in this country, they naturally turned
their attention to the villages of the old French and half-
breeds of the Mississippi valley and Canada; and, at an
early date, Rev. Father Gabriel Richard, a Sulpician, estab-
lished himself at Detroit, who, in 1Y99, visited the Ottawas
at Arbre Croche, where he found one Indian seventy-five
years old, who had been baptized, probably by Du Jaunay,
the last of the old Mackinaw missionaries. This Indian and
a few traditions were all that was left, so far as could be
ascertained, of the several flourishing missions that in the
olden time had existed along the shores of Lake Huron.

Several years passed before the Ottawas of Arbre Croche
received another visit from a Catholic priest ; but the Epis-
copal see of Cincinnati having been erected, and Michigan
attached to it, it was determined that the Ottawas of that
locality should have a priest, and Father Richard was sent
in 1821 to visit them again. Again the Indians asked for
a priest, and in July, 1825, Rev. J. V. Badin visited Arbre
Croche, Drurnmond island, Mackinaw, Sault St. Mary's, and
Green Bay. In 1826, Father Richard induced the secretary
of war to pay two-thirds the expense of buildings, and twenty
dollars per scholar instructed, and by this pecuniary assist-
ance, was enabled to establish a regular mission and school
at Arbre Croche, which was opened the following year,
under the charge of Rev. Father De Jean, and two Catholic
ladies from Mackinaw. In the mean time, Assaguinac, an
educated Indian from Canada, of some prominence, settled
at Arbre Croche, who catechized the Indians, taught them
hymns, and thus prepared twenty-one for baptism on the
arrival of De Jean. The priest, however, did not remain

134 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

there permanently until 1829. In 1830 he had received six
hundred into the church, and his school for boys and girls
contained sixty-four pupils. As a consequence, intoxication
was banished from the village. They had also erected a
house, forty-six feet long and twenty wide, for their school,
and a church fifty-four by thirty feet. The complete success
of this mission encouraged the Catholic church to make a
systematic effort to restore the missions to the different
Indian tribes, and the Chippeways, Menominies, Potowa-
tomies, and Kickapoos, along the lakes, received mission-
aries, who often came in collision with Protestant mission-
aries, and government was often appealed to on both sides
for protection and assistance. The further progress of the
Indian missions will be noticed when speaking of individual
tribes.

The most prominent of the present Jesuit missionaries, in
the north-west, is Rev. Father De Smet, who became a
missionary to the Flatheads, on the upper Missouri, in 1840.
He has secured a commanding influence with the nations in
that region, and in 1865 was employed by the government
to assist in making a peace with the warlike Sioux. He
makes his head-quarters at St. Louis, and is the author of
several books on the Indian tribes.

CHAPTER VI.

THE PROTESTANT MISSIONS.

THE true formula for the conversion of the Indians to
Christianity, was successfully followed by the good and
pious Elliot of Massachusetts. Having been settled as pas-
tor of the church in Roxburyin 1632, and having witnessed
the straggling natives, as they wandered about, trading
some moccasins and furs for food and rum, his love for
them was aroused to activity, and he determined in the true
missionary spirit, to strive for their conversion to Christian-
ity. Unlike the Catholic priests who accompanied the
expeditions of Cortez to Mexico, and Pizarro to Peru, who
only presented the alternative of the sword or the cross, the
good Elliot commenced by learning the Indian language ;
then by instructing them in their own- language in the
requisites of both Christianity and civilization; and in 1654,
after a labor of love for twenty-two years, gathered his first
Indian church at Natick. The following year he had com-
pleted the translation of the New Testament into the Mohe-
gan dialect of the Algonquin language, and in two years
after, he completed the translation of the Old Testament ;
and the Indian Bible thus translated, was the first Bible
printed in America. By his ardent labors, in 1674 he
had fourteen praying Indian villages, in which six regular
churches were formed.

In the mean time, constant aggressions had been carried
on by the traders and settlers against the uncivilized Indians.

136 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

The great chief, Philip, had repeatedly been imprisoned and
robbed of his territory ; and at last, goaded to desperation,
the bold chief summoned his warriors, raised his tomahawk,
and in 1675 commenced the terrible war that resulted in the
extermination of the most of the Indians, and in the death
of over six hundred whites. After the war, when the sor-
rowing Elliot sought out the remnant of his Indian churches,
which had cost him the labor of forty-three years, he found
that they had been plundered and murdered in turn by both
whites and Indians ; and that four bleeding and decimated
villages were all that were left of the fourteen before the
war.

But the mantle of Elliot seemed to fall upon David Brain-
ard. Expelled from Yale College for having said " that
one of the tutors was as devoid of grace as a chair," he was
immediately appointed a missionary to the Indians, by a
Scotch missionary society, and entered upon the duties of
his mission in the spring of 1742 among the Mohegans, at
Kau-na-meek, between Stockbridge and Albany. After a
year's labor of Brainard, those Indians removed to Stock-
bridge, and Brainard turned his attention to the Delawares
of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Here his labors were
crowned with success ; but unfortunately for the cause of
missions, in the fall of 1746, from his arduous labors his
health failed, and in the following spring he returned to
Massachusetts, and in October, died in the family of Jona-
than Edwards at Northampton. About this time several
unsuccessful attempts were made to establish missions
among the Indians. Even the zealous Charles and John
Wesley, failed after three years' efforts, in Georgia. But the
indomitable Moravians, having, like the Wesleys, failed in
Georgia, removed to Pennsylvania, and in 1740 opened a
mission among the Delawares on the Susquehanna. This
mission for a time proved successful, but the Pontiac war
aroused the anger of a portion of the whites, who deter-
mined to avenge themselves on the Christian Indians. To

THE PROTESTANT MISSIONS. 137

avoid this calamity, Zeisberger, the leader of the mission-
aries, took his Indians in a body to Philadelphia, and the
governor attempted to protect them by placing them in the
common prison. Even here some of them were murdered.
In 1767 Zeisberger removed a band of Christian Indians to
the Allegheny river, and three years after, again removed to
Beaver creek on the Ohio, whgre he was the same season
joined by another party of the Delawares from the Susque-
hanna, under the missionary Heckewelder. The following
year, Zeisberger, under an invitation of the Delaware chiefs,
opened another mission on the Muskingum river, where he
was soon joined by a band from the Susquehanna of two
hundred and forty-one persons. Here, in the depths of the
forests of Ohio, the pious missionaries labored with great
zeal in their Master's work, and successfully overcame the
crisis of the hostility of the Pagan Indians, which in after
years proved so disastrous to the Sioux. But successful as
they wrere against the Pagans, many of them finally fell a
sacrifice to the inhumanity of the whites.

The war of the revolution having arrayed the western
Indians on the side of Great Britain, the fierce Iroquois
demanded the alliance of the Delawares, but the Christian
Indians, having imbibed the peculiarities of the Moravians,
refused to fight. This greatly exasperated the English and
their Indian allies, and in the summer of 1781 the Christian
Indians were compelled to abandon their crops and their
settlements on the Muskingum, and remove to Sandusky.
In the fall of the same year, to protect themselves from
starvation the coming winter, they sent back to the settle-
ments on the Muskingum a party of ninety-eight men,
women, and children, to gather their abandoned crops. This
party, when nearly ready to return to Sandusky, were
secretly surrounded by Colonel Williamson, with about
ninety Americans from western Pennsylvania, who dis-
armed the Indians, and murdered ninety-six of them in
cold blood. Two boys alone escaped to report the disas-
9*

138 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

trous news at Sandusky. This success of Colonel William-
son and his party, so elated them and their friends at home,
that early the following March they fitted out an expedition
of nearly five hundred men, under Colonels Williamson and
Crawford, who marched upon Sandusky with the view of
surprising and exterminating the balance of the Christian
Indians at that place. Learning of the near approach of
that force, the hostile Indians about Sandusky, including the
Wyandots, laid in ambush for the American party, and
attacked and cut them to pieces. Colonel Crawford, his
son, and son-in-law, were taken prisoners, and burned at the
stake. After the close of the revolution, and in 1786, the
Christian Indians returned to Pennsylvania and to the
Muskingum, and Zeisberger died on the Muskingum in
1808, aged eighty-seven, having been a missionary among
the Delawares for the long period of sixty-two years. From
the commencement of the mission to 1782, the missionaries
baptized seven hundred and twenty Indian converts. Heck-
ewelder returned to Pennsylvania, where he wrote a history
of the mission, and some other books relating to the
Indians, and finally died at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in
1823. With those two distinguished missionaries, probably
terminated the Moravian missions among the Delawares, as
that tribe in subsequent years do not appear to have had
any Moravian teachers.

From the commencement of the revolution to the close of
the war of 1812, the north-west was in an unsettled condi-
tion, by reason of the refusal of the British to deliver up to
the Americans their surrendered posts, and the constant
intrigues of English traders among the Indians to keep the
latter in the condition of war against the United States ;
but the triumphant close of the war with Great Britain by
the great victory at New Orleans, January 8th, 1815, fully
placed the Americans in the enjoyment of the rights won
by the revolution, and left the north-west free to American

THE PKOTBSTANT MISSIONS. 139

enterprise ; and we might with safety date the dawning of
north-western civilization from that eventful victory.

In this condition of affairs, even religion seemed to have
put on a new phase, and adapted itself to the advance of
civilization in the great west. The then comparatively new
sect called " Methodists," originated by the Wesleys, of
England, and planted in New York in 1766, had now be-
come the religion of great numbers of the pioneers of the
west. It could be preached without parchment or pulpit,
grammar or diploma; could be learned without creed,
prayer-book or breviary, and heard, too, without chapel or
cathedral. It marched without crosier or cross in the emi-
grant train, and slept with the pioneer the first night in his
log cabin. It assembled the scattered pioneers in the shady
grove for the camp meeting, where the happy shouts of the
new converts often excelled in noise the most extravagant
Indian war dance.

The Methodists early embarked in Indian missions.
Their first noted missionary in that department was John
Steward, a free colored man, born near Richmond, Virginia,
who was converted and united with the Methodist church
in that State. Unadvised, and acting on his own impres-
sions of duty, he journeyed alone and on foot from Virginia
to upper Sandusky, in Ohio, where, in November, 1816, he
commenced a mission among the Wyandots or Hurons.
He found an interpreter in a negro, who had, many years
before, been taken prisoner by the Wyandots, and had
learned their language. He met with a determined opposi-
tion from the Pagan and Catholic parties, and to obviate a
difficulty raised by the latter to his not being a priest, in
March, 1819, he visited Urbana Quarterly Conference, and
obtained a local preacher's license, and was appointed mis-
sionary to upper Sandusky.

The Ohio Conference, August 7th, 1819, appointed Rev.
James B. Finley to the Lebanon district, which included upper
Sandusky mission, which appointment gave him the super-

140 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

vision of that mission. Up to this time, Mr. Steward had
won over to the Methodist church four prominent Wyandot
chiefs, and about sixty other Indians. Schools were estab-
lished, and in 1826 the church members numbered 303, and
the schools 77 scholars. An important revival occurred in
1837; and when they removed west of the Missouri they
carried Methodism with them, and continue to sustain a
flourishing church to the present day.

In 1820, the fame of the success of the mission work
among the Wyandots crossed Lake Erie, and aroused the
attention of another band of the same tribe living near
Fort Maiden, in Canada. Two native preachers, and John
Sunday, a converted Chippeway, visited and preached to
them in the Wyandot language. Several were converted,
and a mission established.

In 1823, two half-breeds, John and Peter Jones, brothers,
who were chiefs at Credit river, in Canada, were converted
at a Methodist mission under the preaching of Revs. Torry
and Crawford. The two young Indians returned to their
tribe, and commenced teaching. In 1827 they were visited
by Indian missionaries, and an important revival com-
menced. A camp meeting was held during the summer
near Cobourg, where hundreds of Indians attended, and
many were converted. The shouts of the happy Indian
souls might have been heard for miles around. The great
work spread from band to band, until barbarism almost
ceased in southern Canada West.

John Sunday and some other native preachers went as
missionaries to Lake Superior in 1830, and were followed
in 1834 by four others, including George Copway, as a
teacher. They established, in 1833, a successful mission at
Anse, near Kewenaw bay ; and, in October, 1835, they
established another at Ottawa lake, on the upper Chippeway
river, one hundred and seventy-five miles nearly south from
La Point. These missions were under the care of Rev.
John Clark, whose head-quarters were at Sault St. Mary.

REV. ALFRED BRUNSON, D.D.

THE PKOTESTANT MISSIONS. 143

At the session of Pittsburgh Conference, Pennsylvania,
in July, 1835, Rev. Alfred Brunson, then presiding elder of
Meadeville district, was appointed superintendent of mis-
sions on the upper Mississippi. In September of that year
he started on his work, and attended the Illinois Conference,
which appointed him presiding elder of Galena district,
extending from Rock Island north to the British possessions.
He finally reached Prairie Du Chien in November, where
he found a fort, and quite a settlement of Canadian French
and half-breeds, but only three American families outside of
the fort. Arrived at the head of civilization, he found him-
self entirely unqualified for the work of missions, as he did
not know a word of any of the Indian languages in this
region. Casting about for an interpreter, he fortunately
found a negro slave at Fort Snelling who understood the
Sioux language, and who could be purchased of an officer
at the fort for $1,200. Sending the facts to the Methodist
paper at Cincinnati, he was soon put in possession of the
money by private donations, and with it procured free
papers for the negro.

Father Brunson consumed the summer of 1836 in visiting
Pennsylvania, bringing on his family, and holding quarterly
meetings in his Galena district, south of Prairie Du Chien ;
and, finally, about the 20th of May, 1837, he availed himself
of the first steamboat up the river that spring to go with his
small party to Little Crow's village, at Kaposia, three miles
below the present St. Paul, where he built a house and
established a mission. Returning after several weeks to
Prairie Du Chien for additional supplies, he first met George
Copway, John Johnson, his cousin, and Peter Marksman,
three young Chippeways, who had spent the last three years
in the missions of Lake Superior, and whose superintendent,
Rev. John Clark, had sent south to be further educated at
the Methodist school at Jacksonville, Illinois, called the
" Ebenezer Seminary." These young men accompanied
Superintendent Brunson on his return to Kaposia, and

144 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

assisted in building the school-house and church, and soon
after acted as interpreters at a treaty with the Chippeways,
in which Governor Doty, as government agent, purchased
a large tract of the Chippeways' country. In the fall they
were sent to the seminary, where they remained two years,
and then returned to the missionary work. During the
summer of 1837, Revs. Thomas W. Pope, James Whitford,
and Hiram Delap were added to the mission, the latter with
his family. In May, 1838, Mr. Brunson, with two other
missionaries, Whitford and Randolph, visited Hole-in-the-
Day, the head Chippeway chief, near Crow Wing, above
St. Anthony falls, and got leave to establish a mission in his
band, but the fierce war that broke out immediately with
the Sioux delayed it for some time.

Late in the fall, Mr. Brunson was prostrated with the
fever, which so destroyed his health that he failed to visit
the Kaposia mission the following year, and in the fall of
1839 he was placed upon the superannuated list, and was
superseded by Rev. B. T. Kavenaugh as superintendent.
Mr. Kavenaugh took with him to his missionary field,
Brothers Spates, Huddleston, Johnson, and Marksman, and
established a new mission among the Chippeways, on the
east bank of the Mississippi, at Elk river, some three
hundred miles above St. Paul. In the fall of 1840, when
the missionaries returned from Rock River Conference,
they found the Indians had all fled, on account of the
expected attack of the Sioux, and the mission was removed
to Rabbit river the following February. Ilowever, on the
30th of December, before the removal, Rev. Mr. Huddleston
died of dysentery, and was buried on the top of a little hill
on the bank of the Mississippi. Hole-in-the-Day threw a
heap of stones on the grave, " so," as he said, " that all may
see and know where the good man lies ; he who came to
bless us."

In the fall of 1840 a new mission was established at
Sandy Lake, under the charge of Rev. Mr. Spates, and a

THE PBOTESTANT MISSIONS. 145

school organized. The Sioux having sent hostile war
parties far into the interior of the Chippeway country,
Superintendent Kavenaugh again changed his base, and
established a new mission at Whitefish lake, and another at
Fond du Lac, of Lake Superior. In July, 1841, the missions
were consolidated into that at Sandy lake, under the charge
of Rev. H. J. Bruce, assisted by Rev. Samuel Spates, with
a school of thirty scholars ; that at Whitefish lake, under the
charge of Rev. John Johnson, (Chippeway) ; and that at
Fond du Lac, under the charge of Rev. George Copway,
(Chippeway), assisted by his wife, her sister, and James
Simpson, as teachers.

The mission at Kaposia was much embarrassed in the
spring of 1841, by the war parties, and the school was closed
for the reason that "Little Crow'' visited it, and entered
his protest against any boys attending the school, under the
ill-conceived idea that if they were educated they would not
make warriors. But to his credit it should be stated that at
the alarm in 1838, the night after the battle with the Chip-
peway s on the St. Croix, when the missionaries had ah1
embarked to go down the river, he ordered them back to
their mission house, placed his son with them, and left a
strong guard to surround their house, who reported hourly,
" all quiet without." This son was then a young man nearly
twenty, who became notorious as the head chief in the
Sioux rebellion of 1862. During this fearful night "Little
Crow " and his warriors had their war-dance over the
Chippeway scalps, but a few rods from the mission-house.
Superintendent Brunson was present at the dance a short
time, and witnessed the barbarians holding high carnival
over their trophies of war.

But the Methodists did not confine their efforts to the
tribes above named. In 1823, Rev. Jesse Walker opened a
mission among the Potowatomies, in the vicinity of Fort
Clark, on Fox river, Illinois, and about 1837 over one hun-
dred were converted. About this time, a prophet rose up
10

146 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

among the Kickapoos, preaching the essential doctrines of
Methodism, but adding many of his own peculiarities. His
name was Kee-an-ne-kuk, or the " Foremost man." He was
a chief of great eloquence, and preached every Sabbath to
his tribe, denouncing intemperance with no sparing hand.
The traders in that tribe told Mr. Catlin, who painted his
portrait in 1835, that the chief got his knowledge of Chris-
tianity from a Methodist preacher, whom he would not allow
to preach, but detained him some time, until he learned the
essential doctrines of his religion, and then dismissed him.
It has often been stated that the chief subsequently con-
formed to the orthodox church, but this is a mistake, as he
died west of the Missouri with the small-pox about 1856, in
the belief that he should rise again from the dead in three
days. He had studiously opposed any innovation upon his
teachings. His teachings, however, did not deter the Meth-
odists from opening a mission among the Kickapoos in 1830,
which flourished finely, and in 1834 numbered 230.jnembers,
with a school of twenty-four native children.

In 1829, a mission was commenced at Green Bay, among
the Oneidas, by a young Mohawk, who had been converted
in Canada among the Wesley ans. In a short time 100 were
converted, and its influence spread to the Onondagas, Men-
ominies, and Kewawenons, and schools were established.

Without following out in detail the various. new missions,
and their varied successes, we may say that in 1854, the
Methodists claimed in Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, and
Black river, thirteen missions, seventeen missionaries, 1,051
members, 176 probationers, and five local preachers; and
the Methodist Church South, thirty missions, twenty-eight
missionaries, 4,232 members, thirty-five churches, thirty-
four Sabbath-schools, 1,394 scholars, nine manual labor
schools, and 490 pupils. It should be observed, however,
that the church south took possession of all the missions
among the northern Indians, who removed west of the Mis-
souri river, as well as the very extensive missions among

KEE-AN-NE-KUK

(KICKAPOO PHOPIIET.)

THE PROTESTANT MISSIONS. 149

the Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, etc., in the south ; and
so sensitive were the southern Methodists on this point, that
they compelled the Rev. James Gurley, who had been ap-
pointed by the Ohio Conference, in 1849, to continue the
mission with the Wyandots, to leave the country at the
peril of his life, after he had been with that tribe nearly six
months, to their entire satisfaction.

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis-
ions have not been neglectful of the Indians. A mission
was commenced with the Ottawas at Maumee, Ohio, by the
"Western Missionary Society, in 1822, but subsequently came
xinder the American Board. It flourished for a few years,
and in 1828 had seventy pupils in their school, but the tribe
having sold their land to government, became scattered, and
the mission was abandoned in 1833.

In 1830, a mission was opened among the Chippeways, at
Lapoint, Lake Superior, by Mr. Frederic Ayer, a teacher
and catechist, who was followed the next year by Revs.
Hall and Boutwell. They opened missions at Lapoint, Yel-
low lake, Sandy lake, and Leech lake. In 1834, the Sandy
lake station, occupied by Mr. Ely, was removed to Fond du
Lac ; and the Yellow lake mission, in 1836, was removed to
Pokegurna lake, where they were joined by the missionary
from Leech lake. Fond du Lac mission was deserted in 1840,
and in May, 1841, Pokeguma was attacked by the Sioux,
and the Indians scattered with some loss. They did not
return until 1843, and the post was abandoned by the mis-
sionaries a year or two after. In 1854, and for three years
previous, they only held stations at Bad river and Crow
Wing. The American Board also established a mission
among the Sioux or Dakotas, in 1835.

The first missionaries were Rev. Thomas S. Williamson,
and Jedediah D. Stevens, with their wives ; Alexander
Huggins, farmer, and his wife, and Sarah Poage, teacher,
and Lucy C. Stevens, assistant. They selected two points,
Lake Harriet, six miles west of Fort Snelliug, and Lacqui

150 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Parle, near the head-waters of Minnesota river. Mr. Wil-
liamson, who was a physician, Mr. Huggins and Miss Poage,
remained at Lake Harriet, and the rest of the company
proceeded to the other post. In 1850, they had six missions,
three organized churches, thirty-one native, and thirty-two
white communicants, with an average attendance of twenty-
seven pupils in school. The Rev. S. R. Riggs was early
added to the mission, who has performed much of the labor
of compiling the Dakota Dictionary, and the translation of
the Bible into the Dakota language. The mission continued
to progress finely, until their labors were cut short by the
outbreak of 1862.

Before we pass from the Sioux missions, it is proper to
remark that an effort was made by some missionary society
in Switzerland, to establish a "mission among the Sioux,
and Mr. Denton, a Swiss Presbyterian, was sent from
Europe in 1834, who opened a mission at Red Wing in
the spring of the following year, and Mr. Gavan, another
Swiss Presbyterian, came out in the fall of 1836, and opened
a mission at Mont Trempealeau, in Wabashas' band. They
continued their missions for a few years with some success,
and then returned to Europe. Their missions do not appear
to have been named in any accounts published of missions
in the north-west.

The American Board became possessed of the mission
among the Osages, which was established by the United
Foreign Missionary Society, in 1820. This mission was
conducted with zeal and considerable expense until 1837,
when it was finally abandoned as a useless effort. The same
Board made a similar unsuccessful effort among the Paw-
nees, a tribe on the Platte numbering nearly 7,000. The
first missionary company consisted of Rev. John Dunbar,
missionary, Benedict Satterlee, physician and catechist, and
Samuel Allis, assistant, who made their head-quarters at
Bellevue, the government agency. Dr. Satterlee died on
one of his excursions with a band towards the Rocky nioun-

THE PROTESTANT MISSIONS. 151

tains, and, no adequate success attending the mission, it was
abandoned in 1847.

The missions among the Tuscaroras and Senecas in New
York, were, in 1826, transferred to the American Board.
The following year, John Elliot, of Maine, entered the work
among the Tuscaroras, and was joined by Rev. William
Hall in 1829. In 1843, there were reported at Tuscarora,
forty-nine members; Seneca, twenty ; Cattaraugus, fifty-one;
and at Alleghany, 114. The aggregate number of pupils in
school at all the stations were reported at 200. Previoiis
to 1854, these missions were consolidated into two, the
Seneca and Tuscarora, and that year reported in the aggre-
gate, six stations, five missionaries, nineteen female assistant
missionaries, two hundred and sixty-five members of the
church, and three hundred and eighty scholars.

The Presbyterian Board of Missions have also had some
missions among the north-western Indians. They first
opened a mission among the low as and Sacs in 1835,
which has been continued with some success, and in 1854
they had with those tribes, one missionary, four teachers,
and forty scholars. They opened a mission among the
Olloes and Omahaws at Bellevue, in 1846, and in 1854 had
one missionary and six teachers among them, and forty-two
scholars in their school. Another mission was opened
among the Chippeways and Ottawas, at Grand Traverse
bay, Michigan, by Rev. Peter Dougherty, in 1838, and in
1854 they had one missionary, three teachers, thirty-four
scholars, and thirty -two communicants. In 1852 a school
was opened at Little Traverse, with two teachers and forty
scholars; and at Middle Village, in 1853, with two teachers
and thirty scholars.

There was a mission in 1835, not mentioned in the church
missionary records, at Yellow river, Iowa, nine miles above
Prairie Du Chien, conducted by Rev. David Lowry, a Cum-
berland Presbyterian, and the government agent and school
teacher, among the Winnebagoes. Mr. Lowry subsequently

152 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

came in collision with a Catholic priest, who claimed spirit-
ual jurisdiction over the Winnebagoes, and we are not
prepared to say what became of Mr. Lowry's mission.

The American Baptist Missionary Union, in the fall of
181.7, appointed Rev. Isaac McCoy a missionary among the
Indians on the Wabash river, who immediately repaired to
Fort Wayne, in Indiana, then on the frontier, in the midst
of bauds of the Miarnies, Kickapoos, Potowatomies and
Ottawas. In a year he had made friends with a few Indian
families, and obtained a few children, whom he taught in
his family. In 1820 he had increased his school to forty-
eight pupils. Two years after, he removed his station two
hundred miles further west, and called his new station
Carey, where the Indians were mainly Potowatomies. Here
he gathered a church of some thirty members, part Indians
and part whites.

On the solicitation of " Noonday," a principal chief of a
band of Ottawas, Mr. McCoy established another mission
with that band on Grand river, Michigan, which he named
Thomas, which in 1827 was put under the care of Rev.
Leonard Slater. The Potowatomies, having sold their land
to government, and disappointed the missionaries by their
indifference to religion, Mr. McCoy, in 1829, with all his
associates except Rev. Mr. Sumerville, removed to Thomas.
In 1830, this mission at Grand river was composed of five
missionai'ies, six female assistants, and one farmer. In
1832, a revival of religion took place, and several Indians
were converted, among which was the chief " Noonday."
He proved a very consistent, active Christian ; was of great
service to the missionary in his work, and died trium-
phantly. His grave, in the Indian burial-place at " Richland,"
is marked by a white marble slab, with the name of " Noon-
day" carved upon it. In 1836 the Indians sold their land
to government, and most of the tribes removed west of the
Missouri. A small band, however, removed to Richland,
fifty miles south of " Thomas," who were followed by Mr.

THE PROTESTANT MISSIONS. 153

Slater. In 1853, this band also followed their brethren west
of the Missouri, and Mr. Slater was relieved of his mission.
The most of the expense of these missions, after 1825, was
borne by government, under the act of Congress of 1819,
appropriating $10,000 annually, to be expended by the
President for the education of the Indians.

In 1828 the Baptist Board established a mission at Sault
St. Mary, near the outlet of Lake Superior, and Rev. Abel
Bingham was appointed missionary. The president made
them an appropriation to assist in defraying the expenses of
the mission. Suitable buildings were soon erected, and in
1832 forty persons were baptized and added to the church,
of whom eleven were Indians, and the balance were gen-
erally connected with the American fort. Messrs. Meeker
and Merrill, and their wives, were added to the mission in
1833. In 1854 the Chippeway Baptist mission numbered
two stations, two out-stations, two missionaries, one female
assistant, one native assistant, one church, twenty-one mem-
bers, one boarding school, six pupils ; two day schools and
seventy-four pupils. The following year Mr. Bingham
resigned his supervision of the mission. They also claimed
the following at Shawanoe mission, west of the Missouri :
three stations, three missionaries, five female assistants, two
native assistants, three churches, one hundred members,
two boarding schools, and forty-five pupils.

The Protestant Episcopal church established a mission at
Green Bay in 1825, under the superintendence of Rev. Mr.
Nash, but it was discontinued in 1827. It was revived in
1829, under the care of Rev. R. F. Codle, and again discon-
tinued in 1837. December 2nd, 1838, Rev. Bishop Kemper
consecrated a church at Duck Creek, erected by the
Oneidas with funds received from government, and the fol-
lowing year Rev. Solomon Davis was placed in charge.

The American Missionary Association established a mis-
sion among the Chippeways at Red lake in 1843 ; Cass lake,
1846; St. Josephs and Belle Prairie in 1852. At these
10*

154 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

points, in 1854, they had two missionaries, seventeen assist-
ant teachers, three churches, twelve native communicants,
and thirty-nine scholars in boarding schools.

There were probably other missions of the foregoing
churches and societies, as well as of other societies, but
the writer has not the statistics from which to give their
condition. Several of these missions were discontinued
previous to 1867, and many new ones have been established,
and the reader is referred to the sketches of the different
tribes for the condition of the missions in 1867, together
with their advancement in civilization.

The question has a thousand times been asked, " Why
can't the Indian be civilized and Christianized ?" The
answer from the missionaries has been almost uniformly
this, " that the Indian can be both civilized and Christian-
ized;" but that the lack of success is mainly attributable to
the hostility of the Indian traders, the lack of cooperation
by government, and the sale of intoxicating liquors to the
Indians.

We have previously given the testimony of the Jesuit
Fathers on this subject, and now propose to submit some
Protestant testimony of modern date to the same point, so
that the reader can see that the evil is the same now that it
was two hundred years ago. We will first introduce S.
Cooper, Esq., the government sub Indian agent to the Sacs
and Foxes at Council Bluffs, in October, 1841, by making an
extract from his official report to his government :

" The principal reason of these people not progressing
faster in civilization is ardent spirits, which are kept along
the line of Missouri, and conveyed into the Indian country
by half-breeds. The whisky trade has increased double this
season, and can not be prevented by our Indian agents unless
they can have aid from government. The Indian will sell
any thing for liquor."

Our next witness is A. Hamilton, Esq., sub-agent to the
Miamies, on their reservation in Indiana, who says, in his

THE PROTESTANT MISSIONS. 165

official report, September 10th, 1841, that " the tribe is
diminishing yearly. More than half the adults who die,
perish by the hands of their fellow-Indians. Frequently
members of the same family destroy each other during their
scenes of drunkenness and riot."

We next bring forward Rev. A. Bingham, the faithful
Baptist missionary to the Ojibways, at Sault St. Mary.
Plere is his testimony to government on this subject, in
August, 1841 :

" And so long as our Indians are accustomed to frequent
a place where twelve or fourteen houses are licensed to deal
out intoxicating liquor to a population of two or three
hundred souls, and while there are so many individuals who
spend the most of their time in peddling the deadly stuff to
Indians as well as others, and no check can be put to it;
who, that knows the native fondness of an Indian for it,
can calculate on any very extensive and beneficial results
from the most faithful and self-denying labors of the mis-
sionary ?"

It will be observed that the American Board had a mis-
sionary station among the Osage Indians from 1820 to
1837, which they abandoned the latter year. The following
extract from the official report of the Indian agent for that
tribe in 1841, will explain some of the difficulties:

" Hitherto, these people have lived in the world without
law, or the fear of God before their eyes ; and, in conse-
quence, have repeatedly sinned against their neighbors, and
for several years past have drank much more than formerly.
The vendors of whisky are to be found at almost every
other house, from the Cowskin to Missouri river, near the
boundary line."

Further testimony from the same locality appears in the
official report of J. B Luce, sub-agent to the Senecas, dated
August 1st, 1841 :

" There are two distilleries in Missouri, near the Seneca
line, ready to absorb these toll grains, (of Seneca mill), and

166 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

it is said one of them is supported and carried on entirely
by grain bought from and whisky sold to the Indians. To
such a pitch had this matter reached when I arrived, that
every Monday, the day on which the tolls are distributed,
three-fourths of these unfortunate people might be seen
drunk about the mill."

By referring to the chapter on the history of the Chippe-
ways of Lake Superior and the Mississippi, the reader will
observe that all the efforts at Christianizing this tribe have
been nearly fruitless ; and the missionaries have from time
to time abandoned, them as past all hopes of recovery.
Here are detailed some of the reasons of this failure in the
official report of H. G. Gilbert, Esq., agent for the Chippe-
ways, dated Detroit, Michigan, October 10th, 1855. Speak-
ing of the bands at Lac Court, Oreille, and Lac de Flam-
beau, he says :

" They are seldom visited except by traders, who, from
the very nature of their business, and the manner in which
it has been conducted, have been directly interested in
preventing any advance in civilization among them."
. . . " From their present appearance and condition, as
well as from the most reliable information, I am led to
believe that for many years they have been furnished with
whisky in large quantities." ..." The annuity pay-
ments are always attended by a set of miscreants, who rob
and plunder the Indians of their goods and money, in ex-
change for intoxicating drinks. At the late payment at La
Point, large quantities of whisky were brought to the place,
and within a day or two after the distribution of goods had
taken place, I learned that some of the interior Indians had
been stripped in this way of all they had received. I had
not yet made the money payments, but was ready to do so,
and was well satisfied that if it was made under the then
existing circumstances, a large proportion of the $20,000 to
be paid in coin would find its way into the pockets of the
whisky venders. There was but one course to take. With

THE PBOTESTANT MISSIONS. 157

the aid of my assistants and some other gentlemen present,
every suspected place on the island was searched, and all
the liquor found was destroyed. About 1,000 bottles, put
up ready for sale, were broken, and twelve barrels emptied
into the lake. Several hundred dollars worth of goods, that
had been taken from the Indians in exchange for whisky,
were reclaimed, and the traffic was effectually broken up
for that time."

From the foregoing report, it appears that government
has begun to wake up to the subject, and the following dis-
plays the shadoAvs of coming events. Mr. Fitch, the Chip-
peway agent for 1859, sends the following advice to govern-
ment : " This is a matter that admits of no compromise.
The vender of intoxicating liquors among the Indians must
be considered as their enemy, a disturber of the peace and
good order of society, and should be treated as such at
home and abroad, and as such dealt with according to
law."

We next give agent Galbraith's report of the origin of
the Sioux massacre, which report was dated January 27th,
1863 : " On Sunday, the 17th day of August, A. D. 1862,
at the village of Acton, in the county of Meeker, and State
of Minnesota, four lower Sioux Indians, of the Sha-ka-pee's
band, part of a hunting party composed of fourteen,
obtained whisky, became intoxicated, and killed six persons,
including a man by the name of Jones, from whom, it is
alleged, they obtained the whisky. This was the immedi-
ate, exciting cause of the outbreak."

We close this testimony with an extract from the official
report of the Governor of Dakota territory, dated Septem-
ber 20th, 1864. Speaking of the Sioux war, then pending,
and its origin, he says : " It is in a great measure, if not
wholly, attributable to the influence of disloyal persons, or
rebels, who are so generously permitted by the government
to have intercourse with them (Indians) ; and the practice
which prevails to an alarming extent, doubtless much

158 UPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

beyond the belief or even conception of the department, of
allowing such persons to carry whisky into the Indian
co.untry, where it is sold to the Indians or exchanged for
peltries, in such quantities as at times to make a whole
camp drunk and unmanageable."

From these extracts, all of which are taken from the pub-
lished documents of Congress, it appears that government
is now fully advised that the whisky-trader with the Indians
is a rebel, and should be treated as such by government ;
and that such rebels have constantly fought against all the
efforts of government and of missionaries for over two
centuries, and, unfortunately for civilization and Christianity,
have, until lately, beat them both. But Congress has now
passed strong penal laws against the whisky traffic with the
Indians, and if the Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall
hereafter select the proper Indian agents, who will sympa-
thize with the missionaries, and, at all hazards, execute the
laws, there is yet hope for the poor remnants of the once
brave and powerful nations of the north-west.

In view of the premises, the zealous missionaries, remem-
bering that even Jerusalem " killed the prophets and stoned
them which were sent unto her," should take courage and
renew the conflict, for the day of victory is evidently near
at hand.

CHAPTER VII.

THE IROQUOIS, HUBONS, DELA WAKES, AND MOHEGANS.
ONGWE-HONWE, OR IROQUOIS.

THIS confederacy originally called themselves the Ongwe-
Jfonwe, or real men ; a name nearly synonymous in mean-
ing with Illini, or the men of the Illinois confederacy.
After the Iroquois had confederated, they called themselves
JTonoshioni, or people of the long house, meaning that their
council-houses, from Albany to near Lake Erie, had become
one. In the early times of Champlain, the French called
them Iroquois, from their peculiar eroh, or grunt, which
they gave at the close of a speech, with the affix of ois,
probably thereby meaning the grunters, or eroh-ers.

They were originally six bands, known to the English as
Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, and
Tuscaroras. The latter band, according to their traditions,
went down the Ohio to the Mississippi, and from thence to
North Carolina. This probably occurred in about 1662,
while they were in pursuit of the Shawnees. In North
Carolina, while living near Newburn, they joined some local
tribes, and made war on the whites in 1712, but were
defeated, and the most of the band returned to New York
in 1714. The Hurons and Eries were originally powerful
bands of the same people, but having become alienated by
the intrigues of Champlain, they were nearly exterminated
by the Iroquois. A remnant, however, of the Hurons,
called by the Iroquois Quatoghies, were readmitted, in

160 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

1723, as the seventh band or nation, under the English
name of Necariages. This latter proceeding, however,
does not appear to have been generally satisfactory with
the Hurons, and they did not take up their residence with
the confederacy. It was, nevertheless, a formal reunion of
the whole great Ongwe-Honwe family, after the long,
desolating civil war so unfortunately inaugurated by Cham-
plain in 1610.

Like the Winnebagoes, Dakotas, and some other ancient
tribes, they have no traditions of removals from other local-
ities ; but uniformly have declared that they were originally
created or called forth from the bowels of a hill near the
falls of the Oswego river. This miraculous birth, with their
early history, are associated with spirits, beasts, reptiles,
and war, in the best style of fabulous Greece and Rome ;
and even excelled the Puritans of Salem in the number and
power of their witches.

Their traditions of wars, excepting those evidently fabu-
lous, do not seem to extend beyond our history of the
French settlement of Canada; but the Senecas ahvays
dwell with much emphasis on their war against the Kah-
kwas, or Eries, which we have given as having terminated
in 1655. Beyond that, it is believed that there is no plausi-
ble tradition of a war extending to the Mississippi.

The wanderings of the Tuscaroras to the Mississippi, and
thence to the rivers Roanoke and Neuse, in North Carolina,
appear very reasonable, when we consider that the Shawnees
were driven by the Iroquois up the Tennessee, until they
were seen on the Santee in South Carolina. Had the Tus-
caroras followed the Shawnees to the head-waters of the
Tennessee, they would then have been in the western part
of North Carolina, and near the head-waters of the Roanoke
and other rivers running to the Atlantic. The custom of
the Indians was to journey in canoes, and we must regard
that custom in drawing inferences from their traditions.

In previous chapters we have traced this confederacy

ONGWE-HONWE, OR IKOQUOI8. 161

through the heroic ages of their Avars, and shall hereafter
more particularly attempt to note their real progress in
civilization. Long before the French and Indian war, the
French missionaries were urging the Iroquois to settle
within the bounds of Canada, for the double purpose of
removing them from the Protestant Dutch influence, and
that they might be available to the French in their wars
against the English colonists. Hence the French finally
planted a colony of these Christian Indians at St. Regis, on
the south shore of the St. Lawrence river, on the north line
of the present State of New York. This village often be-
came the rallying-point for those raids into the English
colonies, organized and directed by the French, which re-
sulted in no good to, but eternally disgraced, the French
name. Against this village the English directed their oppo-
sition, and the Iroquois refused them all political connection
with their confederacy. In latter years, however, the St.
Regis Indians have attained a respectable degree of civili-
zation.

In a previous chapter we have detailed the circumstances
of the breaking up of the confederacy by the American army
in our revolution, on account of a large part of the tribe
taking the part of Great Britain in that war. After that
war, a considerable proportion of the hostile part of the
confederacy settled on the Grand river in Canada, and
founded Brantford, while others settled in Ohio, near the
Hurons. At the present day, that branch in Canada have
their schools and churches. After the close of the revolu-
tionary war, and in October, 1784, the United States made
a treaty with the Iroquois, who remained in New York, in
which the Indians surrendered all their claim to the Ohio
valley west of a line commencing on Lake Ontario, four
miles east of Niagara ; thence southerly four miles east of
the falls carrying place to the mouth of Buffalo creek;
thence south to the north line of Pennsylvania ; thence fol-
lowing that State line to the Ohio river. This treaty cut
11

162 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

off all rights of the hostile Senecas to territory in Ohio.
Subsequent to this, treaties were made from time to time,
until the territories of this once mighty nation were limited
to small reservations in New York, where a remnant resided
in 1867, apparently contented and happy.

The primary right to the soil of the territory held by these
Indians, was purchased by a powerful land company in New
York, which made a strong effort to induce the Indians to
emigrate west, and Congress was induced to set aside nearly
two millions of acres of land west of the Missouri river, for
a reservation for the tribes, but only a few individuals ever
emigrated to that region, who now live with the Shawnees.
The Rev. Eleazer Williams, by his influence as a missionary
with the Oneidas, finally succeeded in leading west, in 1823,
a small company of that tribe to Fox river, near Green Bay.
Difficulties, however, occurred with the Menominies, who
gave the Oneidas their land, and nearly ten years were
spent in negotiations, which were concluded in 1832; and
soon after, the most of this band, and a part of the St. Regis
band, removed and settled in Wisconsin. The Oneidas, in
1867, had a reservation near Green Bay of 61,000 acres, of
which 3,307 acres were under cultivation, yielding the pre-
vious year 3,837 bushels of wheat, 18,875 of corn, 575 of
rye, 830 of peas, 13,495 of potatoes, 11,156 of oats, and 584
tons of hay. They lived in forty-one frame, and one hun-
dred and five log houses. In 1866 they had a mission
school, conducted by the Methodists, with an average
attendance of twenty-one scholars ; and another by the Epis-
copalians, with an average attendance of twenty-six scholars.
Agent Martin, in his annual report, September 23, 1866, said
of the Oneidas : " There are upon the reservation many
good farms and desirable houses, and a ride through their
settlement exhibits evidence of thrift, industry, and good
management, highly creditable to the resident population ;
their houses appear comfortable, their barns spacious and
well' filled," etc. Their lands had not been allotted to the

ONGWE-HONWE, OK IEOQUOIS. 163

individual members of the band, but are held m common.
The band put 111 volunteers into the Union army.

The Iroquois in the State of New York, in 1865, had the
following reservations : Alleghany, containing 30,469 acres,
of which 2,436 were under cultivation, and having thereon
186 houses ; Cattaraugus, containing 21,680 acres, of which
4,962 were under cultivation, having thereon 43 frame, 103
log, and 103 plank houses ; Tonawanda, containing 7,000
acres, of which 2,006 were under cultivation, having thereon
18 frame, 38 log, and 63 plank houses ; Tuscarora, contain-
ing 6,000 acres, of which 3,372 wrere under cultivation,
having thereon 27 frame, and 44 log houses.

The Onondagas, residing at Onondaga castle, had 569
acres under cultivation, with 40 frame, 32 log, and 11 plank
and block houses. The St. Regis band had 4,826 acres
under cultivation, with 13 frame, 68 log, and 2 stone and
brick houses. In 1845, that portion of the St. Regis band
in the United States numbered 360 souls, but government
have not taken them under then- supervision, and they, con-
sequently, do not receive any annuities.

The New York Indians are making progress in civiliza-
tion, and have agricultural fairs annually at Cattaraugus and
Tonawanda reservations. The Thomas Asylum for orphan
and destitute Indian children, was entirely successful in 1 866,
and its embarrassment from lack of funds was relieved in
1865 and 1866 by annual grants of $1,000 from the United
States national fund for education. The State of New York
supports schools among the Indians, and had twenty-three
in successful operation in 1866.

The Baptists, Methodists and Congregationalists have
several churches, and a respectable number of church mem-
bers among these Indians in western New York. The St.
Regis band, however, are understood as being under the
supervision of the Catholics. They were all loyal to the
Union in the late rebellion, and furnished 1 95 soldiers to the
army.

1C4 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

While two hundred years of our history of the Iroquois
appear as worse than wasted in desolating wars, instigated
and directed by the French and English influence, yet we
have the pleasure of noting that a change of policy on the
part of the white has in fifty years brought these " savages "
up to a grade of civilization nearly equal to the whites of
the States in which they live. This lesson, so dearly learned,
ought to be remembered by both whites and red men, in
the future of civilization in America.

WYANDOTS, OR HUROKS.

This kindred band of the Ongwe-Honwe, called them-
selves the Wyandots. The French, however, called them
Hurons, which name the historian Charlevoix (no very good
authority) says was derived from hure, the French name of
the head of a wild boar, on account of the fantastic manner
in which the tribe dressed their hair. The Iroquois called
them Quatoffhies, and the English Necariages. A band of
the Hurons, living to the south-west of the principal nation,
were called by the French " Tobacco Indians" and " Tion-
ontaties," and by the English in subsequent years, " Denon-
dadies."

When C artier visited the St. Lawrence in 1535, he found
the sites of Montreal and Quebec in the possession of bands
of Indians, of which he preserved some words of their
language, which are found to be of the Huron or Iroquois
dialect. When Champlain came in 1608, he found the
Algonquins in possession of Quebec, and a war existing
between them and the Iroquois. He heard of the Hurons
at or above Montreal, and engaged them to join the Algon-
quins against the Iroquois in 1610.

We have traced them through that long and disastrous
war, and find a remnant of them, about 1653, among the
Sioux, on Iowa river; a few below Quebec, and the
greater part either killed or prisoners among their enemies.
The party among the Sioux soon quarreled with that tribe,

WYA^TDOTS, OB HURONS. 165

and removed to the head waters of the Black river, Wis-
consin, where they were visited by two Frenchmen in 1659.
This point being ill adapted to agriculture, they returned
down Black river, and fortified, probably, the site of the
Winnebago village at Gale's Ferry, where they were visited
by Jean Guerin, the associate of Father Me"nard, in August,
1661 ; thence they were driven away by the Sioux, and in
1665 Father Allouez found them at the head of Lake
Superior. Thence they were expelled with the Algonquin
nations in 1671, and returned to the Island of Mackinaw.
Here a portion of the band were stationed in 1723, when
they were formally readmitted into the Iroquois confederacy.
A party of the Hurons, however, had descended and settled
near Detroit in 1700. The whole band finally settled at
and near Sandusky, Ohio.

After the revolutionary war, they made several treaties
with the United States, and finally, in 1842, engaged to
remove west of the Missouri river. Here, the following
year, December 14th, they purchased of the Delawares
thirty-nine sections of land at the junction of the Kansas
and Missouri rivers, where they settled. In 1850, by another
treaty, their land was surveyed, allotted, and divided be-
tween them, and they were allowed to become citizens of
the United States.

The Hurons numbered at Lake Superior, in 1668, about
four hundred souls; at Detroit, in 1736, about two hundred
men; in 1763, at Detroit about two hundred and fifty men,
and at Sandusky about two hundred men ; at Sandusky and
in Michigan, in 1825, about five hundred and seventy-nine;
and 1853, by a regular census, they numbered in Kansas
five hundred and fifty-three.

By the treaty of 1855, it was provided that, upon the ful-
fillment of certain stipulations, the Wyandots should become
citizens, and take patents of their lands, the existence of the
tribe to cease ; the greater part of them received their
patents accordingly. Difficulties, however, accumulated

166 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

from time to time. Certain of their lands set apart for
orphans had been taxed by Kansas, and sold ; whites had
continued to trespass on their lands, and rob them of their
property, and in 1866 nearly the whole band represented to
government, " that, however much they may strive to live
like whites, the people about them, in many cases, appear
to think that Indians ' have no rights that white men are
bound to respect,' and that they are "constantly robbed of
their stock and other property, and not able to obtain the
same redress as white people ;'' and asked government to
let them remove as a band and settle with the Senecas in
the Indian country, south of Kansas, who, they said, had
invited them to do so, in grateful remembrance for the
home which the Wyandots had given the Senecas in Ohio,
when the latter were fugitives from New York, at the time
of the revolutionary war. The Wyandots have reached a
grade of civilization nearly equal to the whites in their
vicinity, and maintain schools and a Methodist society.
Had they received fair and Christian treatment from the
whites in Kansas, their posterity might, in a few years only,
have been known as the " first families," like the " John
Randolphs," of Virginia fame.

LENAPEE, OR DELA WARES.

This once powerful nation called themselves the Lenapee,
but as bands of them lived along the Delaware river and
bay when first settled by the whites, they became known to
the English as the Delawares.

The French of Canada alluded to them in February, 1666,
as the Wampum-makers, against whom the Mohawks and
Oneidas had then sent a war party. They again speak of
them in 1670, as "the Andastogues, a tribe bordering on
New Sweden, well adapted for war." At a treaty between
the Iroquois and French of Canada, in July, 1673, the
former asked for the French assistance against " the An-
dastogues," who were then " strongly fortified with men

LENAPEE, OK DELAWARES. 167

and canoes," saying that they had not " the means of going
to attack them in their fort, which was very strong," The
French again speak of the Andastogues in February, 1684,
as having previously " been conquered by the Iroquois and
the English of ' Merilande,' " and that the English of Albany
sent an Iroquois chief, who prevented William Penn from
purchasing the Susquehanna valley of Andastogues. This
long and destructive war was probably generated by the
French of Canada about 1664, to engage the Iroquois, and
prevent them from pursuing their successes against the
Hurons and their Algonquin allies. As early as 1654, the
French, for the same purpose, were urging the Iroquois to
prosecute their war against the Eries ; and the Mohegan
band, at least, of the Delawares, were their allies against the
Eries. On the defeat of the Eries, in 1655, the Iroquois
soon renewed their old war against the French and their
Indian allies, and about 1664 the Mohegans, by some influ-
ence, broke their allegiance with the Iroquois, which soon
involved the whole Delaware nation, and led to their
subjugation in 1675, and to their taking upon themselves
the humiliating condition of squaws. In this condition
William Penn found the Delawares in 1682, docile and
very friendly; and in this condition he also found their
great war chief, Tamenend, at his wigwam near Princeton,
New Jersey, in 1688, who was afterwards canonized as
" St. Tammany " by the Tammany Society in New York,
soon after the close of the revolution, in derision of St.
George, of the tories. Thus fell the acknowledged " grand-
fathers " of the Algonquin nations, victims to the intrigues
of European civilization.

The original territory of the Delawares was situated on
the south of the Iroquois nations, and north of the lower
Potomac, extending from the Atlantic to the Alleghany
mountains, while their powerful band with the totem of a
wolf, or in their language, the Mohegan, extended to Mas-
sachusetts. Their leading tradition claims that they and

168 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

their allies, the Iroquois, had a long war with the Alleghans,
or Allegewi, which they finally conquered and drove down
the Mississippi. From this tradition, some have imagined
that the Alleghans might have been the Mound-Builders, but
this hypothesis is not corroborated by the traditions of the
Iroquois ; but by applying this tradition to the defeat of the
Eries, it becomes quite probable, as it is corroborated by the
known fact that at least the Mohegans, the northern band
of the DelaAvares, assisted the Iroquois in the defeat of the
Eries ; while the Delaware word "Alleghany " river, refers
to a stream within the territory of the Eries, and the same
tribe was beyond the "Alleghany " mountains.

The Delawares sold William Penn the site of Philadel-
phia in 1682, and some territory adjoining. The following
year he attempted to purchase the Susquehanna valley, but
the English of Albany dispatched the bold Cayuga chief
Orewakee, who positively forbade the Delawares selling it,
and the humiliated squaw nation dare not disobey their
masters.

In 1694, a large band of the Shawnees were permitted to
settle with the Delawares on the Susquehanna, by the
Iroquois. Difficulties finally occurred between the whites
and Delawares, and Shawnees, and in 1740 we find the
Govei'nor of Canada intriguing with the Delawares and
Shawnees, and inviting them to settle in Ohio. In 1743 a
large part of the war parties emigrated to Ohio, and the
Christian bands were forced to follow in 1767. In a pre-
vious chapter we have traced their history in Ohio until
after the war of 1812. A part of the Delawares and Shaw-
nees of Ohio, being unwilling to continue the war with the
whites, in 1793 emigrated west of the Missouri. The bal-
ance of the Delawares sold their lands in Ohio in 1818 and
1829, to the United States, and in 1832 joined their brethren
in Kansas. The treaty of 1854 provided for a sale of part
of their land in Kansas, and an allotment in severalty of
the balance. In 1860 many of them had become good

MOHEGANS. 169

farmers, and maintained a mission school in charge of the
Baptists, and their agents report them the richest nation per
capita on the globe. They put 160 volunteers into the
Union army during the rebellion.

In 1763 their various bands on the Susquehanna, Mus-
kingum, and Lake Erie, were estimated at 600 men; in
1825, in Missouri, at 1,800 souls ; and by the census of 1853,
there were found 1,132 souls on their reservation in Kansas.

The Delawares have been much annoyed by their white
neighbors, and many of them being desirous to move again
to the Indian country, the United States made a treaty with
them July 4, 1866, which was ratified, and published August
10, of the same year, by which their reservation of nearly
100,000 acres is to be sold to the Missouri River Railroad
Company, " except such as is held by Indians who may elect
to remain in Kansas and become citizens." Those wishing
to remove are to be provided with a new home in the Indian
country. A small band of the Munsee of the Delawares are
associated with the Stockbridge Indians in Wisconsin.

MOHEGANS.

Moliegan, or in French orthography, Mahingan, accord-
ing to the Algonquin language signified wolf; hence the
French called them Loups. They belonged to the Delaware
band, with the totem the wolf, which were located near
Minisink, New York, at the first settlement of the country.
They were often called the " River Indians," and " Canoe
Indians," by the whites, as they were found along the Hud-
son and Connecticut rivers, and Long Island sound. They
belonged to the great Delaware nation, and by them were
called " Grandsons." Other bands of the Mohegans, called
Pequods, Pokanoket, Narragansetts, and Massachusetts,
occupied eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The first whites which landed in Massachusetts violated
the hospitality of the Indians, by stealing a number of them
and selling them into slavery in the West Indies ; hence the
11*

170 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

whites became known only as enemies, and the first party
of Pilgrims which landed in 1620 were boldly attacked by
the Indians. In May, 1637, followed the Pequod war, and
that band was annihilated or sold into slavery in the West
Indies. The Dutch war followed in 1643, and, according
to Dutch authority, the cruel Governor Kieft indiscrimi-
nately put to death '2,000 men, women, and children, in no
instance sparing either age or sex.

The Mohegans became involved with their grandfathers
the Delawares in the great war with the Iroquois in about
1664, and in 1675, with the Delawares, were content to
assume the position of squaws.

King Phillip's war came on in 1675, and the Narragan-
setts, Pokanokets, and Massachusetts, ceased to exist as
independent bands. The pious Elliot had spent forty
years in learning the Massachusetts dialect of the Mohegan
language, had translated the Bible into that dialect, and suc-
ceeded in establishing fourteen Christian villages, but Avhen
the war cloud cleared away, four decimated bleeding vil-
lages were all that were left of his forty years' labor, and his
new Bible was found to be literally in a " dead language."

The surviving Mohegans of the Connecticut and Hudson
rivers for many years continued a kind of wandering life,
and were allies of the whites through the subsequent wars
with the French and Canada Indians.

After the close of the French and Indian war, and in
1765, the census of Massachusetts showed 1,569 Indians
and half-breeds, scattered through seven counties, as the
relic of all the powerful tribes which once inhabited that
region; and in 1860 that number was reduced to 317,
nearly all of whom were in the Marshpee district.

Two small bands of Christian Indians, however, con-
tinued to exist, one the Brothertown, and the other the
Stockbridge, or, as the latter called themselves, " Mohekun-
nucks." The latter band removed to New York previous
to 1794, and the former followed soon after, and both were

MOHEGANS. 171

permitted to settle with the Oneidas, where they were
joined by the small band of Delawares called the Munsees,
from the Susquehanna. These three bands emigrated to
Wisconsin with the Oneidas in 1821, and in 1831 were
allowed to settle on three townships of territory purchased
-from the Menominies, on the east side of Lake Winnebago.
The Brothertowns soon became citizens of the United
States, but the Stockbridge and Munsees had divided
councils, and part of them became citizens, and about one-
fifth removed to Kansas soon after 1846.

The Stockbridges and Munsees, who remained in Wis-
consin, sold their reservation, and in 1856 removed to two
townships in the timbered country further north, being
township twenty-eight, north of ranges thirteen and fourteen
east. This new reservation proved to be too barren and
frosty for agricultural productions, and in 1866 they were
reported in a very destitute condition ; but the commissioner
of Indian affairs sent them $1,000 out of the fund to pur-
chase " provisions for Indians," which, it was believed,
would keep them from suffering. Their school averaged
eighteen scholars in the summer of 1866, and was taught by
Rev. J. Slingerland, a native teacher. They also organized
a Methodist church the same year, with about twenty mem-
bers of the class. In 1856 they numbered 409 souls, but
the discontent on account of their poor reservation, had so
scattered them in 1866, that there were but 152 left, only
one of whom was a Munsee. These speak English, and are
the " last of the Mohegans."

PUBLISHER'S NOTE. A small band of from three to five hundred
of the Mohegans were settled in Connecticut on the Thames river,
about five miles below Norwich, where a missionary, for several
years, previous to 1845, Rev. Mr. Gleason, Congregationalist, a man
of large heart and burning zeal, and a school-teacher, were for many
years located, and labored with pretty good success. But their close
proximity to whisky, and the indifferent quality of their soil, were
constant drawbacks upon the progress in religion and civilization
of these poor Indians. They have wasted away until only a mere
remnant remains.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE ILLINOIS CONFEDERACY.

Under the name of this confederacy, we class :

1. The Illini, or " the men," who formerly occupied the
country between the Illinois and Wabash rivers.

2. The Miami, who occupied the Wabash and Maumee
rivers, and whom the early missionaries called an Illinois
tribe.

3. The Mascotens, who occupied the eastern part of the
State of Michigan.

4. The Kickapoo, a northern band, according to Shawnee
tradition, of that tribe, who probably lived between the
Miamies and Shawnees ; and

5. The Shawano, or people of the south, who occupied
the central valley of the Ohio river, and who in later years
the English have called Shawnees.

We have classified these several tribes as a confederacy,
not from any knowledge that they were the same people, or
associated in government, but solely on account of their
associations and similarity in customs and languages.

THE ILLINOIS.

This nation, consisting of the bands called Peorias, Kas-
kaskias, Kaokias, Tamarois, and Michigamias, occupied the
country between the Illinois and Wabash rivers, and first
became known to the French in the treaty with Mcolet, at
Green Bay in 1639. The following year, they made a inur-

THE ILLINOIS. 173

derous assault on the Winnebagoes, but soon returned their
prisoners and reinstated' that tribe. In 1660 the Iroquois
fell upon them, and drove the most of them beyond the
Mississippi. Part of the Michigamias fled to the Wisconsin
river, and the balance of that band to the Arkansas river.
The most of the Illinois having returned to their country,
they were again attacked by the Iroquois, September 10,
1680, and about 1,200 either killed or taken prisoners. This
nation was constantly engaged in wars until modern times,
when they became almost extinct. In 1736, they were
estimated as follows : Michigamias, at Fort Chartres, 250
men; Kaskaskias, six leagues below, 100 men; Peorias at
the Rock, 50 men ; sftid Kaokias and Tamarois, 200 men.

The United States made a treaty with this tribe (except
the Peorias), August 13, 1803, the first article of which is
as follows :

"ARTICLE IST. Whereas, from a variety of unfortunate
circumstances, the several tribes of Illinois Indians ^are
reduced to a very small number, the remains of which have
been long consolidated and known by the name of the
Kaskaskia tribe, and finding themselves unable to occupy
the extensive tract of country which of right belongs to
them, and which Vas possessed by their ancestors for many
generations, the chiefs and warriors of the said tribe, being
also desirous of procuring the means of improvement in the
arts of civilized life, and a more certain and effectual support
for their women and children, have, for the considerations
hereinafter mentioned, relinquished, and by these presents
do relinquish and cede to the United States, all the lands in
the Illinois country, which the said tribe has heretofore
possessed, or which they may rightfully claim ; reserving to
themselves, however, the tract of about three hundred and
fifty acres near the town of Kaskaskia, which they have
always held, and which was secured to them by the act of
Congress of the third day of March, 1791 ; and also the
right of locating one other tract of twelve hundred and

174 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

eighty acres within the bounds of that now ceded, which two
tracts of land shall remain to them forever."

This treaty did not include the Peoria band of the Illinois,
nor their territory ; hence a new treaty was made, Septem-
ber 25th, 1818, with the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Michigamia,
Cahoki, and Tamarois, specially describing the whole terri-
tory ceded by the united tribe as follows : " Beginning at
the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, thence up
the Ohio to the mouth of Saline creek, about twelve miles
below the mouth of the Wabash ; thence along the dividing
ridge between the waters of said creek and the Wabash to
the general dividing ridge between the waters which fall
into the Wabash and those which fall into the Kaskaskia
river; thence along the said ridge until it reaches the
waters which fall into the Illinois river ; thence, in a direct
line to the confluence of the Kankakee and Maple rivers ;
thence down the Illinois river to its confluence with the
Mississippi river, and down the latter to the beginning."

For this cession the United States agreed to pay the
Peoria band $2,000 in merchandise, an annuity of three
hundred dollars for twelve years, and give them six hundred
and forty acres of land, " including their village on Black-
water river, in the territory of Missouri." t

By the treaty of October 27th, 1832, the Kaskaskias
ceded to the United States their reservation in Illinois,
except the three hundred and fifty acres near Kaskaskia,
which they reserved " to Ellen De Coigne, the daughter of
their late chief, who has married a white man ;" also released
to the United States their permanent annuity of $1,000, and
salt annuity ; and the Peorias ceded all their land in Mis-
souri and Illinois, and all other claims. For which the
United States ceded to the united bands of Illinois Indians
one hundred and fifty sections -of land, " as long as they live
upon it," which was " to include the present Peoria village,
west of the State of Missouri, on the waters of the Osage
river, to be bounded as follows, to wit : North, by lands

THE MIAMIES, MASCOTEXS, AND KICKAPOOS. 175

assigned to the Shawnees ; west, by the western line of the
reservation made for the Piankeshaws, Weas, and Peorias ;
and east, by lands assigned the Piankeshaws and Weas."
Also, gave the united bands $3,000, as an annuity, for ten
successive years ; also, $1,600 to Kaskaskias for salt annuity ;
and horses lost, three hundred and fifty dollars ; to Peorias
for improvements on land left, two hundred and fifty dol-
lars ; to the united bands, four hundred dollars in stock,
" three iron-bound carts, thre£ yoke of oxen, and six
ploughs j" also build for them " four log houses ;" to pay
for breaking and fencing, three hundred dollars ; to buy iron
and steel, fifty dollars annually for four years ; to pay on
ratification of treaty, eight hundred dollars in goods, and
$1,000 for provisions and expenses of removal.

In 1858 these tribes, with the Piankeshaws and Weas,
collectively, numbered only about two hundred souls, and
had made some advance in civilization, and still occupied
their reservation on the Osage. In 1865 the population of
all these bands had increased to two hundred and thirty-six.
Their individual personal property averaged one hundred
and forty dollars each. By their treaty of 1854, the allot-
ment system was adopted, and each Indian generally has
his separate farm. They have no separate school, but
several of their children attend St. Mary's school, among
the Potowatomies. They often express a wish for a school
and preaching. Several of them are members of churches.
They have no annuities.

THE MIAMIES, MASCOTENS, AND KICKAPOOS.

The Mascotens, or "Fire nation," were known to the
French in 1615, being then at war with the Eries. The
three tribes were driven out of their country about 1660,
and took shelter with the Sacs and Foxes on the Wisconsin
river, on the borders of the Wisconsin forests, where they
were found, April 30th, 16YO, by the Jesuit missionary, Rev.
Father Allouez, who said of the Miamies and Mascotens

176 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

that they numbered " more thaiv.3,000 souls, being able each
one to furnish four hundred men to defend themselves
against the Iroquois, who come even into these distant
countries to seek them." Rev. Father Marquette, in 1673,
found these three tribes on the Wisconsin river ; b\it pre-
vious to 1680, according to Father Membre, the Miamies
changed their residence to St. Joseph, Michigan, and had
become allies of the Iroquois against the Illinois. La
Honton, who visited the upper Mississippi in 1680, and
published his travels in France in 1705, locates the Miamies
and a band of the Mascotens on the St. Joseph's river, and
bands of the Miamies, called Aouiatinons, at Detroit,
Maumee, and Wabash rivers. In 1751 the Miamies were
on the Wabash. The Kickapoos, whom the Shawnees
claim were a part of their tribe, with a band of the Masco-
tens, continued to occupy villages on the Wisconsin river,
and were generally allies of the Sacs, Foxes, and Winne-
bagoes, up to 1754, when we find them associated with the
Potowatomies and Sioux in a war against the Peorias of
Illinois.

The Mascotens, who returned south-east with the Miamies,
seem to have settled near the Sciota, for, according to the
Governor of Canada, the Shawnees of Pennsylvania, in
1743, settled at the " Prairie of the Mascotens." In 1763,
Colonel William Johnson locates near the Wabash a band
of the Kickapoos, numbering one hundred and eighty, and
one of the Mascotens, numbering ninety, and as belonging
to the Miami confederacy. After our revolutionary war,
the name of the Mascotens disappears from among the
Indians of the north-west, and that tribe probably joined
the band of Kickapoos, who many years ago emigrated
south-west, and are now among the Creeks in the Indian
country.

The balance of the Kickapoos sold their lands on the
Wabash in 1832, removed south-west of the Missouri river,
and in 1854 settled on their present reservation of 150,000

THE MIAMIES, MASCOTENS, AND KICKAPOOS. 1*77

acres, located on the Grasshopper river, about thirty-three
miles west of St. Joseph, Missouri. In 1859 they numbered
on the reservation, 350, and were in about ninety families;
some with farms which contained 100 acres. The wild
bands return at the time of the government payments, and
receive their proportion of the annuities. They had, in 1865,
800 acres under cultivation, with two frame, and forty log
houses, and raised 600 bushels of wheat, 20,000 bushels of
corn, 800 of oats, 1,500 of potatoes, and 200 of turnips.

The allotment of land was not generally adopted by the
tribe, only thirty families having accepted farms ; and the
remainder occupy land in common. One hundred and
twenty, who had been absent from the tribe since August 1,

1864, rumor says, had been cut off by the wild Indians in the
south-west. At least, they had not returned in November,

1865. The unsettled condition of affairs during the rebel-
lion had operated to create dissatisfaction, and many of their
cattle and horses had passed into the hands of thieves.
Many were anxious to sell out and remove to the south-west,
but the chiefs refused to make a treaty to that effect in 1866.
The mission-school, under the charge of the Methodists,
which had been very successful, was finally discontinued in
the latter part of 1864, but government reestablished a
school in June, 1866, from the educational fund. There is
a great probability that part of the tribe have, or will, return
to the wild state, and chase the buffalo in their annual
circuits along the foot of the Rocky mountains. Their
annuities are $5,000 interest, and an installment on principal
of $5,000. They have been loyal to the government during
the late rebellion.

There are small bands of Miamies still occupying the Eel
river reservation in Indiana, but the most of them, including
the Weeas and Piankashaws, sold their lands in Indiana in
1840, and removed to a reservation on the Osage river, the
two latter bands associating with the Peorias of Illinois,
with whom we shall further speak of them. By the treaty
12

178 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

of 1854, the Miamies adopted the allotment in severalty of
their lands, and each one has his separate farm. In 1865,
they numbered one hundred and twenty-seven souls, had
nine frame, and eleven log houses, cultivated 503 acres, and
raised 200 bushels of wheat, 8,500 of corn, and 500 of pota-
toes. Their reservation contained 57,600 acres, and their
personal property averaged $120 each. Their annuities were
$1,540, for expense of smith-shop, mills, etc; $13,562.89
interest, and one annual instalment of $7,500. They fur-
nished three soldiers for the Union army.

The Eel river (Indiana) Miamies had an annuity of
$ 1 , 1 00 of interest. A large proportion of these have become
thoroughly civilized, and many of them devoted Christians,
connected with the Baptist denomination. Two, brothers-
in-law, were licensed to preach, and became very eloquent,
effective preachers, among their tribe. Bruilette, the eldest
of these, was an old warrior and a drunken fighter. But the
grace of God subdued his wicked passions, and transformed
the lion to the lamb. In that heart where sin abounded,
grace did much more abound, and he lived several years
exemplifying the spirit of Jesus, and in the summer of 1867
died the death of the righteous.

8HAWANO, OR SOUTHRONS.

The name of this tribe was Shawanons, according to the
early French authors, which, in the Miami language, means
Southrons, or the people of the south ; evidently given
them because they lived on the Ohio, to the south of the
Miamies. The English contracted the word to Shawanees,
and in later years, to Shawnees, by which they are known
in modern times. According to Marquette, in 1673, they
had thirty-eight villages on the Ohio river, near each other,
and " are the people the Iroquois go far to seek, in order to
wage an unprovoked war upon." According to the same
authority in 1668, a party of the same tribe visited the
Illinois Indians, after thirty days' journey from east south-

SHAWANO, OR SOUTHRONS. 179

east, with many glass beads, which showed that they had
visited the whites, probably in Carolina. According to the
Iroquois authority given the French in 1680, that nation
attacked the Illinois Indians about 1660, and drove them
out of the country. It is true the Iroquois do not mention
the Shawnees as one of their bands, yet as the Illinois,
Miamies, and Shawnees, spoke nearly the same dialect, it is
reasonable to suppose, in connection with the statement of
Marquette, that the Shawnees were driven out of the country
at the same time with the Illinois, and retired to the south,
where bands of them were seen on the head-waters of the
Santee, according to Lawson, and on the head-waters of the
Mobile, according to Adair ; and a band of them might even
have gone to Florida, according to General Harrison, where
Black Hoof was said to have been born previous to 1750.
Rev. Father Gravier, long a missionary among- the Illinois
previous to 1700, speaks of the Shawnees as living on the
Tennessee river ; and Charlevoix located a band of them, in
1721, between the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. In
1693, the Shawnees made a treaty of peace with the
Iroquois, with the help of the English of Pennsylvania, and
a band of nearly 700 settled near the Delawares in Pennsyl-
vania, the following year. They came to Pennsylvania by
way of Pittsburgh. In about 1740, we find the Governor
of Canada intriguing with the Shawnees, to induce them to
return to the Ohio valley; and in 1743 the Pennsylvania
Shawnees returned and settled on the Sciota, and a war
with the Cherokees is understood as having driven the
bands from the Tennessee to the same locality, about the
same time. Mr. Schoolcraft puts this emigration to the
Ohio from the south in 1640, which is evidently an error of
100 years, as we have no knowledge of the Shawnees pre-
vious to 1660. General Harrison, in his historical address
in 1838, claimed that the Shawnees never occupied the Ohio
valley until a short time previous to 1750, and based his
statement on that of Black Hoof, who claimed to have been

180 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

born in Florida. General Harrison does not even allude to
the fact that a large band of the Shawnees lived in Penn-
sylvania, and was also evidently unacquainted with the
French explorations in the north-west. Some authors have
intimated that the Shawnees might have been the remnant
of the Eries, but this hypothesis is destroyed by the fact
that the Eries spoke a dialect of the Huron-Iroquois, while
the Shawnees speak a dialect of the Miami- Algonquin. The
name of the tribe is also fatal to this hypothesis.

A band of the Shawnees emigrated west of the Missouri
river as early as 1793, but the balance remained in Ohio
until 1832, when they sold out their lands to the United
States, and, about four hundred strong, emigrated to and
accepted a reservation of 200,000 acres of land west of the
Missouri and south of the Kansas rivers.

In 1736 they were estimated to contain two hundred men ;
in 1763, three hundred men; in 1825, eight hundred souls;
and in 1853, including the Delawares, 1,400. In 1865 the
census numbered them at eight hundred and forty-five per-
sons. Under their treaty of 1854, seven hundred of the
Shawnees selected their farms in severalty, and the balance
formed the Black Bob settlement, and continued to hold
their lands in common. They have banished whisky, and
many of them have fine farms under cultivation.

Their school is under charge of the Society of Friends,
and in 1865 contained forty scholars, and was quite pros-
perous. Nearly twenty children attend the State schools.
Both Methodists and Friends have religious services once
each week among the Shawnees.

Their reservation contains 200,000 acres, on which there
were forty-five frame houses, and one hundred and fifty log
houses. They raised, in 1865, 3,000 bushels wheat, 20,000
bushels corn, 2,500 bushels oats, and a proportional of
vegetables. They also had 300 horses, 600 cattle, 1,000
swine, and 580 sheep.

Being on the border of Missouri, they suffered from the

SHAWANO, OR SOUTHRONS. 181

rebel raids, and particularly that of General Price in 1864.
They furnished for the Union army one hundred and
twenty-five enlisted men, and a company of home guards.
They furnish an instance of the successful civilization of
an Indian tribe. In the spring of 1866 a treaty was made
with the tribe providing for the sale of lands, and authoriz-
ing such as desired it to remove to Indian territory, but it
had not been ratified by the Senate in November of that
year.

CHAPTER IX.

THE WINNEBAGO CONFEDERACY.

WHEN Sieur Jean Nicolet visited the 0-chunJc-o-raws, or
Winnebagoes, at Green Bay in 1639, he spoke of them as
then " sedentary and very numerous ;" but this fact has
since been doubted, as the following year they were nearly
exterminated by the Illinois, and if so easily exterminated, it
was thought that they could not have been very numerous.
Again, it was said by authors that the Winnebagoes were
only an insignificant band of the Sioux, speaking a dialect
of the Sioux language ; but later investigations into the
language of the 0-chunJc-o-raws and several other western
tribes seem to establish the fact that they are the parent
nation to a confederacy, of an independent language, reach-
ing from Lake Superior south to the Red river, and com-
posed of the Winnebagoes, Menominies, lowas, Missouris,
Osages, Kansas, Quapaws, Ottoes, Omahas, Ponkas, and
Meandans, and perhaps some others.

On this subject the Rev. William Hamilton, who had
previously for fifteen years been a missionary among the
lowas, and had published a grammar of their language, in
answer to questions from H. R. Schoolcraft, wrote that
gentleman in about 1853 as follows : " There is no more
difference between the language of the lowas, Otoes, and
Menominies, than between the language of a New Eng-
lander and Southerner. A few words are common to one
tribe, and not to the other. They say the Winnebago is the

WINNEBAGO CONFEDERACY. 183

first language. This may be true ; if so, the Iowa, Otoe,
and Missouri language would be one dialect ; the Omahas
and Ponka another ; the Konza, Osage, Quapaw, and
Ahachae (a band of the Osages) another ; or, perhaps, the
Omahas, Pongkaws (Poncas,) Konzas, etc., might all be
called one dialect." ..." The Osage, Konza, Quapaw,
etc., are the same language. The Omaha and Ponka are
the same. Some say there is no difference between the
language of the first and last named ; others say there is
some difference. I inquired of a Konza Indian, not long
since, who said they were the same : he could understand
all the Omaha. Many words of the Winnebagoes are the
same in Iowa ; so some of the old men who speak Win-
nebago tell me." (See History of the Indian Tribes, by
Schoolcraft. Part IV., pages 405 and 406.)

In the same volume, at page 227, J. E. Fletcher, Esq.,
Indian agent to the Winnebagoes, writes : " The Winne-
bagoes claim that they are an original stock; and that the
Missouris, lowas, Otoes, and Omahas sprung from them.
These Indians call the Winnebagoes their elder brothers ;
and the similarity of their language renders it probable that
they belong to the same stock. Even in 1670 the Winne-
bagoes told Rev. Father Allouez that " there were only
certain people of the south-west who spoke as they did."

To this testimony we may add that of Mr. Saterlee Clark,
an old Winnebago trader, and one of the few who ever
learned that language, that he could converse with and
understand the lowas, and that the lowas called themselves
O-chunk-o-raws ; the late statement of the Winnebagoes to
General Sully, that they spoke the same language as the
Omahas ; and the further statement of James Reed, Esq.,
of Trempealeau county, Wisconsin, to the writer, that he
had not been able even to learn the Winnebago language,
on account of its being so deeply guttural, notwithstand-
ing he had many years spoken Sioux, been a farmer and
trader amongst them, and had a cousin of the Chief

184 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Wabasha as his wife. This, we imagine, makes a strong
case against the assertion that the Winnebago is only a
dialect of the Sioux.

When Sieur Nicolet assembled four or five thousand of
Winnebagoes, Sioux, Illinois, and Potowatomies, at Green
Bay, in 1639, for a general council, is it not probable that
there came also the Menominies, lowas, Osages, and other
kindred bands of the Winnebagoes, and from their numbers
he correctly came to the conclusion that the Winnebagoes
were " sedentary and very numerous ?" They then evidently
occupied the territory from near Mackinaw south-west to
the Red river, extending east as far as the Illinois river, the
Mississippi, and the lower Ohio valley. For over thirty
years later, and after the advent of the fugitive Algonquins,
the eight Illinois bands were on Illinois river as their real
homes, although Marquette, June 25th, 1673, found the
Peorias on the Mississippi when descending the river ; but
they had returned to the Illinois when he came back, some
two months after. Rev. Father Allouez also found the
Illinois on the Illinois river in 167V. Thus was evidently
situated the Winnebago confederacy in 1639, " sedentary
and very numerous."

The traditions of the 0-chunJc-o-raw, claim that that tribe
was created at the Moke-kaw-shoots-raw, or red earth
banks, on the south shore of Green Bay. They were known
to the Algonquin tribe by the name of " Winnebagoee," or
people of the salt water ; and as the Algonquin word for
salt water and stinking water was the same, the French
gave them the name of La Puants, or stinkards. They,
however, call themselves the 0-chunJc-o-raw.

This tribe was spoken of by Sieur Champlain, who visited
Lake Huron in 1615, and the novelty of their name probably
induced the French Governor of Canada to send Sieur
Nicolet, his Indian interpreter, to visit them in 1639, m

O-CHUNK-O-BAW. 185

hopes of discovering the western ocean. They continued
to occupy Green Bay, Fox river, and Lake Winnebago, until
modern times, and were generally allies of the Sacs and
Foxes in the old Indian wars. They were, after 1*754, allies
of the French while they held Canada ; and afterwards of
the British, until the close of the war of 1812.

In 1816 the United States concluded a treaty of peace
with the Portage band, under the chief Choo-ke-kaw, or the
Ladle ; more commonly known by his French name, " De
Carry." This band agreed to separate themselves from the
balance of the tribe until they made a treaty of peace also,
and delivered up their prisoners. The O-chunk-o-raws
joined the tribes at the great council with the United States,
held at Prairie Du Chien, August 19th, 1825. The treaty
concluded at this council, defined the boundary of the
Winnebago territory as follows : " It is agreed between
the Winnebagoes and the Sioux, Sacs and Foxes, Chippe-
ways and Ottawas, and Chippeways and Potowatomies of
the Illinois, that the Winnebago country shall be bounded
as follows : South-easterly by Rock river, from its source,
near the Winnebago lake, to the Winnebago village, about
forty miles above its mouth ; westerly, by the east line of
the tract lying upon the Mississippi, herein secured to
the Ottawas, Chippeways and Potowatomies, of the Illinois ;
and also by the high bluff described in the Sioux boundary,
and running north to Black river; from this point, the
Winnebagoes claim up Black river to a point due west from
the source of the left fork of the Ouisconsin ; thence to the
source of said fork, and down the same to the Ouisconsin ;
thence down the Ouisconsin to the Portage, and across
the Portage to Fox river ; thence down Fox river to the
Winnebago lake, and to the grand J£au-kaulin, including
in their claim the whole of Winnebago lake." The line
mentioned as secured to the Ottawas, etc., extended from
the Wisconsin river south, along " the sources of the small
streams running into the Mississippi." The Sioux claimed
12*

186 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

to the bluffs east of the Mississippi from opposite the mouth
of Iowa river, to the mouth of Black river. By the treaty
of August 11, 1827, between the United States and the
Chippeways, Menominies and Winnebagoes, our govern-
ment stipulated that "the sum of $1,000 shall be annually
appropriated for the term of three years ; and the sum of
$1,500 shall be annually thereafter appropriated as long as
Congress think proper, for the education of the children of
the tribes parties thereto, and of the New York Indians near
Green Bay, to be expended under the direction of the
President of the United States."

In 1827 a difficulty broke out between the Winnebagoes
and Chippeways, which came near involving the whites in
a war. It appears that some Winnebagoes attacked and
killed eight Chippeways near Fort Snelling, whereupon the
commandant of that fort took four of the offending Winne-
bagoes, and delivered them to the Chippeways, who imme-
diately put them to death. Red Bird's band soon after
attacked two keel boats at the mouth of Coon Slough, on
the Mississippi, killing two, and wounding six whites ; while
Red Bird himself killed two whites at Prairie Du Chien.
The alarm spread to the miners who were digging lead
north of Galena, who fled to that town, and immediately
organized for war, electing General Dodge for their com-
mander. General Atkinson, with a small force of regular
troops, marched up the Wisconsin river, and, being joined
by the miners, under General Dodge, advanced to attack
the Winnebagoes in force at the Portage ; but on the arrival
of the troops at that place, the Winnebagoes sent a flag and
delivered up Red Bird, and 'six others, as the guilty parties,
which ended the war.

The following year the United States made an attempt to
purchase the Winnebago lands, including the lead mines,
and failed ; but by the treaty at Prairie Du Chien, concluded
August 1, 1829, the tribe ceded their territory south of the
Wisconsin river, and west of a line running south from

O-OnUNK-O-KAW. IP*'

/»

Lake Puckaway, by Duck creek, Fourth lake, near Madis«,9J,
Sugar river, and Pee-kee-tol-a-ka, by which the Winnebago
interest in the mines was secured to the United States.
The consideration for the territory purchased was $8,000
paid annually for thirty years ; $30,000 in goods paid down,
and 3,000 pounds of tobacco, and fifty barrels of salt deliv-
ered annually for thirty years.

By the treaty of September 15, 1832, the Winnebagoes
ceded to the United States all the balance of their lands
south of the Wisconsin and Fox rivers, for which the gov-
ernment gave them an interest in the " neutral grounds "
west of the Mississippi, an annual annuity for twenty-seven
successive years, of $10,000, and further agreed to establish
and maintain a school at Prairie Du Chien for twenty-seven
years, at an annual expense not exceeding $3,000 ; support
six agriculturalists for twenty-seven years ; pay not exceed-
ing $2,500 for twelve yoke of oxen and agricultural imple-
ments; pay the Rock river band 1,500 pounds of tobacco
per annum ; and pay $200 per annum each, for the services
of two physicians, one stationed at Fort Winnebago, and
the other at Prairie du Chien. The treaty contained some
small grants of land to half-breeds, and required the tribe to
surrender eight Indians, charged with the murder of some
whites in the Black Hawk war.

By another treaty, of the first of November, 1837, the
Winnebagoes ceded to the United States all the balance of
their territory on the east side of the Mississippi river, anu.r
certain interests on the west side, for which our government
paid $1,500,000. Of this amount, $100,000 was to be ex-
pended in goods, horses, provisions, opening farms, and
expenses of the removal of the Indians west of the Missis-
sippi, where the tribe engaged to go in eight months after
the ratification of the treaty. However, they did not per-
form that agreement until 1840.

The eighth treaty with the Winnebagoes, was made at
Washington, D. C., October 13, 1846, by which the tribe

UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Ji^ct «ndered all their interests in lands in the United States,
vhich the United States engaged to give the tribe 800,000
l.'i'es of land north of the St. Peters, or Minnesota river, for
j> residence, and pay in addition, $190,000. Under this
treaty, the chiefs of the tribe selected a tract of country
north of the Watab, but the tribe were generally dissatisfied
with the location, and the most of them remained scattered
about the country. In 1853 a new treaty was made, by
which they were allowed to change their location to the
Crow river ; but the ratification of this treaty was refused
on the remonstrance of the people of Minnesota. The
matter was compromised by the United States, and in
February, 1855, the chiefs were permitted to select their
lands on the Blue Earth river, south of the Minnesota.
Here the tribe settled the same spring, highly satisfied with
their land, and immediately commenced building houses and
improving land. So well had they succeeded, that the gov-
ernment agent at St. Paul, in 1860, reported of them as
follows : " There have been raised by individual Indians as
high as sixty acres of wheat alone on a single farm. The
reservation presents the appearance of as much improve-
ment as the surrounding country ; and in fact, when viewing
the comfortable log and frame houses that dot the reserva-
tion as far as the eye can reach, it presents a far different
scene than is usual to be found upon Indian reservations,
for wigwams are becoming as rare as houses were but two
k -ars since."

The same year the teacher of the school reported 118

mpils enrolled, of which sixty -two were males, and fifty-six

females ; that they were instructed in the ordinary English

branches, and had " as much educational capacity as can

be found in any school of an equal size."

But in the midst of their prosperity, when their civiliza-
tion had become almost a certainty, the occurrence of the
" Sioux massacre," in June, 1862, dashed their fond hopes
to the ground. Notwithstanding the Winnebagoes took no

O-CHtnSTK-O-EAW. 189

part with the Sioux in that affair, but offered the services of
their warriors to our government, to help punish that rebel-
lious nation, yet the exasperated inhabitants of Minnesota
demanded the removal of the Winnebagoes, and Congress,
by a special act, directed the President to transport them to
the Missouri river with the friendly Sioux. Accordingly,
in May and June, 1863, without any treaty, they were loaded
upon steamers and taken to the Missouri river, where, in
the language of a missionary to the writer, " they were, like
the Sioux, dumped in the desert one hundred miles above
Fort Randall." When the purposes of government became
known to the tribe, the old chiefs, De Carry, Winneshiek,
Dandy and their families, and some others, fled to Wiscon-
sin, where, near the tunnel, in the fall of 1864, the venerable
old chief, De Carry, who captured Black Hawk in 1832,
and sent him to the government agent at Prairie Du Chien,
died in poverty. He was very old, but remarkably intelli-
gent, and was grandson of Ho-po-ko-e-kaw, or Glory of the
Morning, the chieftess of the tribe when visited by Captain
Cai'ver in 1766, and of her French husband De Carry, who
was mortally wounded at Quebec near the close of the old
French and Indian war. In 1862 the writer spent several
days with him, taking notes of his family and tribe, while
his family were gathering their summer harvest of berries
near Mont Trempealeau.

Soon after the Winnebagoes were landed at Crow creek,
Dakota territory, they pronounced the country not fit for
cultivation, and were greatly dissatisfied. They soon com-
menced the manufacture of canoes, to return down the
river. Brigadier-General Sully visited their reservation,
and July 15, 1863, sent a dispatch to General Pope, in
which he remarked : " I find both tribes (Sioux and Win-
nebagoes) very discontented, and if troops are not constantly
kept here, I think there will be trouble.

" The Winnebagoes I find hard at work making canoes,
with the intention of quitting the agency and going to join

190 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

the Omahas, or some other tribes down the river. I had a
council with them yesterday, in which they said they had
been promised, when they left their last reservation, to be
settled on the Big Sioux river. How true that is I can not
say.

" They also stated that nothing would grow here. They
dare not go out to hunt, for fear of the other tribes, and
they would all starve to death. This I believe to be true,
without the government intends to ration them ah1 the time.
The land is dry, sandy, and parched up."

In a letter to the Secretary of the Interior, dated the fol-
lowing day, General Sully remarked :

" I state this from my own knowledge of the country.
The land is poor ; a low, sandy soil. I don't think you can
depend on a crop of corn even once in five years, as it
seldom rains here in the summer. There is no hunting in
their immediate vicinity, and the bands of Sioux near here
are hostile to them.

" They (the Winnebagoes) tell me they are friends of the
Omahas, and speak nearly the same language. It is their
wish to be united with them on the Omaha reservation, and,
as they say, the Omahas are in favor of this also.

" Their last removal from Minnesota was hard for them,
for they were not implicated in the late massacre," etc.

The Indian agent for the Omahas, October 16th, 1863,
reported the continued arrival of small parties of "Winne-
bagoes at that reservation in a destitute condition, and he
was soon after instructed from Washington to provide for
all that arrived. In September, 1864, over 1,200 had
arrived, and the agent, with the consent of the Omahas,
had assigned them a tract of land for temporary cultivation,
and they had harvested one hundred acres of corn.

Soon after this, the Winnebagoes contracted with the
Omahas for nearly one-third of their reservation, at about
thirty-nine cents an acre, of which the Indian agent said,
September 15th, 1865 : " If this agreement be ratified by

O-CHUNK-O-RAW. 191

the Senate, the coining winter they will become possessed
of lands (two hundred and forty sections) ample in extent
for all the purposes of the tribe, abounding in wood and
water, and for agricultural purposes equal to the best farm-
ing lands in Nebraska." This contract was finally ratified
by the United States government.

Speaking generally of the Winnebagoes, the Indian super-
intendent of the Northern department, in September, 1865,
said : " I cannot too strongly recommend this unfortunate
and much-abused tribe to the fostering care and protection
of the department. Hurried from their comfortable homes
in Minnesota, in 1863, and located at the Crow Creek
agency, where it is impossible, one year in six, to raise a
crop, either of corn, wheat or potatoes, they have suffered
more than any other tribe in the country. They are now
subsisted by government on the Omaha reservation, in
Nebraska, whither they have all sought refuge to escape
starvation ; and, under the most favorable auspices, they
must continue a charge upon the government to a greater
or less extent, for nearly two years to come."

The superintendent, in his August, 1865, report, again
speaking of the same tribe, remarked : " This tribe is
characterized by frugality, thrift, and industry to an extent
unequaled by any other tribe of Indians in the north-west.
Loyal to the government and peaceful towards their neigh-
bors, they are entitled to the fostering care of the general
government."

The removal and unsettled condition of the Winnebagoes
broke up their schools and religious instruction, and in
December, 1864, thirty-eight chiefs and head men, at their
Omaha residence, petitioned their " Father," the President,
among other things, as follows : " It is our sincere desire
to have again established among us such schools as we see
in operation among your Omaha children. Father, as soon
as you find a permanent home for us, will you not do this
for us ? And, Father, as we would like our children taught

192 UPPEB MISSISSIPPI.

the Christian religion, as before, we would like our school
placed under the care of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign
Missions. And last, Father, to show you our sincerity, we
desire to have set apart for its establishment, erection, and
support, all of our school funds, and whatever more is
necessary."

The population of this tribe has been variously estimated
at different periods. Thus we find in a French document,
that they had two hundred and thirty warriors in 1736;
according to Sir William Johnson, in 1763 they had in-
ci*eased to 360; Captain Carver, in 1766-, reduced the
number to 200. By a census of the tribe in 1859, they
were found to number 2,256 souls, of which 1,055 were
males, and 1,201 females; but by the census of 1865,
the whole number had diminished to 1,900. The latter
census probably did not include the stragglers in Wisconsin,
which were still there in 1866. They have been a vigorous,
athletic race, and received from the Sioux a name, O-ton-
kah, which is said to mean, when interpreted, " the large
and strong people."

In the spring of 1866, the Winnebagoes finally settled on
their Omaha reservation, and commenced building houses,
of which they had been destitute three years ; they also put
on white men's clothing, and have cheerfully settled down,
hoping to have a permanent home.

The agent, in his report of August 20, 1866, said : " There
has returned to the tribe, within the past few weeks, about
100 soldiers, who have served with credit to themselves and
to their tribe, in the defense of their country. I consider
the Winnebagoes one of the best tribes of Indians in the
country, and with proper treatment, they will soon become
a self-sustaining, prosperous and happy people."

By the treaty with the United States, ratified and pro-
claimed March 28, 1866, the Winnebagoes released their
Crow creek reservation, and accepted their Omaha reserva-
tion, paid for by the United States. They also were to

O-CHTTNK-O-EAW. 193

receive 100 cows, 400 horses, 20 yoke of oxen, and wagons ;
have a steam saw and grist mill, and necessary buildings
for a complete agency erected, and are to be paid the
expenses of removal and subsistence for one year.
13

CHAPTER X.

THE WINNEBAGO CONFEDERACY — CONCLUDED.

MENOMTNIES.

This tribe early occupied the country between Green Bay
and Lake Superior, and, anterior to the advent of the whites,
were quite powerful ; but having become involved in a war
with the Chippeways, the Rev. Father Allouez, who visited
them May 6, 1670, said they were then " almost extermi-
nated." The date of this war is not given, but it probably
occurred after the Algonquin nations and Hurons had been
driven west by the Iroquois; that is, after about 1652 or
1653. Nicolet spoke of the Noquet, who inhabited the south
shore of Lake Superior in 1639, but were at the Great and
Little Bay De Noquet in 1659. This tribe might have been
only a band of the Menominies, and were probably involved
in the same war with that tribe, against the Chippeways.
What became of the Noquets is not known, but they disap-
peared from history early in the eighteenth century, and
probably were merged in the Menominies, who subsequently
occupied their territory at Bay De Noquet. Their name,
Menominie, or " the Wild Rice People," was of the Algon-
quin language, but by the French they were called, Folles
Avoines, or the Wild Oats People.

The first treaty between this tribe and the United States,
eifecting a cession of territory to the latter, was that of
August 11, 1827", by which it was provided as follows :

"AETICLE 3. It being important to the settlement of

MBNOMINIES. 195

Green Bay that definite boundaries should be established
between the tract claimed by the former French and British
governments, and the lands of the Indians, as well to avoid
future disputes as to settle the question of jurisdiction, it is
therefore agreed between the Menominie tribe and the
United States, that the boundaries of the said tracts, the
jurisdiction and title of which are hereby acknowledged to
be in the United States, shall be as follows : namely, begin-
ning on the shore of Green Bay, six miles due north from
the parallel of the mouth of Fox river, and running thence
in a straight line, but with the general course of the said
river, and six miles therefrom to the intersection of the
continuation of the westerly boundary of the tract of the
Grand Kaukaulin, claimed by Augustin Grignon ; thence on
a line with the said boundary to the same ; thence with the
same to Fox river ; thence on the same course, six miles ;
thence in a direct line to the south-west boundary of the
tract, marked on the plan of the claims at Green Bay, as
the settlement at the bottom of the Bay ; thence with the
southerly boundary of the said tract to the south-easterly
corner thereof; and thence with the easterly boundary of
the said tract to Green Bay."

"In consideration of the liberal establishment of the
boundaries, as herein provided for," the United States shall
pay in goods, $15,682 ; $1,000 annually for three years, and
$500 annually, " as long as Congress shall think proper, for
the education of the children of the tribes, parties hereto,
and of the New York Indians." This latter appropriation
included the Winnebagoes and Chippeways, and the New
York Indians then settled near Green Bay.

By another treaty, February 8, 1831, the Menominies
ceded to the United States their territory south-east of Fox
river and Green Bay, and east of Lake Winnebago, extend-
ing south to the "Milwauky, or Manawauky river," and
extending east to Lake Michigan, estimated at 2,500,000
acres, of which tract three townships of land on the east

196 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

side of Lake "Winnebago were assigned to the Stockbridge,
Munsee, and Brothertown Indians.

The Menominics also, for the location of "the Six
Nations of the New York Indians, and St. Regis tribe,"
gave 500,000 acres north of the Fox river, for which
cessions of territory the United States paid a fair consider-
ation in money, goods, annuities, farm stock, and erection
of houses, mills, etc. The original treaty was subsequently,
on the 27th of October, 1832, by a new treaty, somewhat
modified in the boundary for the Six Nations. By the treaty
of September 3, 1836, they also further ceded the southern
portion of their territory, east from Wolf river to their
eastern boundary line between the Little and Great Bay De
Noquet, a strip of land three miles wide on each side of the
Wisconsin river, from near the Portage north, forty-eight
miles, containing eight townships, for which the tribe
received a large increase of annuities, and the payment of
goods and the Indians' debts to the traders.

By the treaty of October 18, 1848, the Menominies ceded
to the United States all the balance of their lands in Wis-
consin, for which the United States gave them a reservation
above the Crow Wing river, on the upper Mississippi, of
600,000 acres, and $300,000, and the tribe engaged to
remove accordingly.

On the examination of this tract, the Indians being
opposed to removing to it, the United States, May 12, 1854,
accepted a recession of it, and gave the tribe a reservation
on their old lands, of townships twenty-eight, twenty-nine,
and thirty, north of ranges thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and
sixteen east, containing 432 square miles. For the difierence
between the two reservations, the United States gave them
$242,686, in fifteen annual installments, commencing in 1867.

They moved on to their reservation and commenced
improvements, and the following year the Indian agent
reported that a majority of the Indians had adopted the
American dress, and wore the coat and pantaloons. Osh-

MENOMENTES. 197

kosh, the head chief, who had resisted the civilization of the
tribe, this year, seeing the advancement of the civilized over
the uncivilized Indians, gave in his influence for civilization.

The industrial school in 1855, under the care of Jane
Dousman, manufactured one hundred and twenty-eight
coats, two hundred and eighteen pants, one hundred and
sixty-five shirts, one hundred and thirty-seven gowns, and
forty-one pairs of socks and stockings. The school-houses
being temporary shanties, the progress was slow in that
department ; but seventy -five male and fifty-two female
children attended during the year. During the year, " five
of the girls," said the teacher, " have left school, and have
married, and are doing very well. I am happy to state
they are good housekeepers, having been taught the more
substantial branches of domestic work."

In 1853 the whole tribe numbered 2,708, and had much
diminished from 1825, when they- were estimated by the
Secretary of War at 4,170, of course an over-estimate. In
1865, the whole tribe numbered 886 males and 993 females
— total, 1,879 souls. They continued to reside on their
reservation of 230,400 acres, but suffered considerably by
the small-pox, having lost seventy-nine by death. They
raised 150 bushels of wheat, 1,600 of corn, 550 of rye, and
3,975 of potatoes, and some other articles, and manufactured
90,000 pounds of maple sugar.

The educational and religious interests of the tribe are
under the direction of the Catholics, but, unfortunately, for
the last two or three years, a collision has occurred between
the teachers of the schools and their priests, which led to the
dismissal of the old priest for licentiousness and drunken-
ness. His successor gave offense by advising the Indians
not to send their children to school, and was ordered off
the reservation. A third, in 1865, took the dead bodies of
those who died with small-pox into the church, and was
run out of the county by the sheriff. The teachers of the
schools are Catholics, and have long been connected with

198 UPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

the educational and religious interests of the tribe. To
their untiring zeal is attributed the partial civilization of the
tribe ; nearly two-thirds being Catholics, and the balance
pagans.

The two schools have had about one hundred scholars
annually for several years, and the pupils are represented as
having made good progress in their studies. The sewing
school, in 1865, notwithstanding the delays on account of
the small-pox, manufactured twenty-six coats, seventy pants,
forty-tAVO shirts, thirty dresses, thirty-nine skirts, thirty-nine
gowns, and socks and stockings one pair each.

The tribe has put into the Union army during the war
one hundred and twenty-five soldiers, one-third of whom,
were killed in battle or died in hospital.

Intemperance has not been as pi-evalent as formerly, but
still leads to difficulty, and some guilty whites have been
indicted by the United States court.

The principal drawback on the civilization of the tribe is
the poor quality of the soil of the reservation ; much of it
being sandy, black oak, barren ; but there are some rich
timber lands, which the agent has urged the Indians to
occupy for farms, and which will probably soon be occupied
instead of the barrens.

The United States owe the Menominies two annual appro-
priations of $916.66, for smith's shop, etc. ; $3,000 balance
to pay millers; and $242,686, divided into fifteen equal
installments, to commence in 1867.

The report of agent Martin, in September, 1866, repre-
sents the Menominies as " very kind and tractable in their
dispositions, easily controlled, and many of their chiefs
manifesting a strong desire to have their children in-
structed ;" that their " schools could not, in my judgment,
be improved ;" that their reservation was " perhaps the
worst for farming purposes in this State ;" and that " it is
but an act of justice to Father Cajetan, the Catholic mis-
sionary resident at Kenosha, to mention his constant efforts,

IOWAS. 199

during the time he has been in charge, to promote the
temporal and spiritual interests of the Indians, and the
success which has thus far attended them."

Of the O-chunk-o-raw confederacy, the lowas evidently
occupied northern Iowa, from the upper Iowa to the lower
Iowa river, along the Mississippi; but, on the advent of
the fugitive Algonquins, were crowded further back, and
Le Sueur found them, in 1700, occupying the territory from
the south bend of the St. Peter's river, extending south
towards the Missouri; probably along the Cedar, lower
Iowa and Des Moines rivers.

When the warlike Sacs and Foxes had conquered and
driven south the northern bands of the Illinois, they extended
their conquests into the present State of Iowa, and drove
back the lowas and other tribes of the Winnebago con-
federacy, and took possession of all the eastern part of the
beautiful State. In this war, which was after 1760, they
were assisted by the Ottawas of Mackinaw, and many of
the confederates were captured and became slaves. Mr.
Grignon, in his " Recollections," says he knew personally
fourteen of these slaves, and that three of them were Osages,
two Missouris, and one Mandan, but that they were com-
monly denominated Pawnees.

The first treaty with the lowas was simply a treaty of
peace and for the delivery of prisoners, made September
16th, 1815. By the treaty of August 19th, 1825, at Prairie
Du Chien, the territory of the lowas was not defined, but
they were left jointly with the Sacs and Foxes, and some
other tribes, in the possession of western Iowa. By the
treaty of July 15th, 1830, the lowas and other tribes cede
to the United States, as a general reservation, for the loca-
tion of Indian tribes, the country from the Big Sioux to the
Missouri State line, and extending east from the Missouri
and Big Sioux to the dividing waters between the Missouri

200 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

and Des Moines, for which the United States paid the lowas
$2,500 annually for ten years, and gave them an assistant
blacksmith, and six hundred dollars in agricultural imple-
ments.

In this treaty, the lowas, Omahas, Ottoes, and Yankton
and Santee bands of Sioux, set apart a tract for their half-
breeds, " Beginning at the mouth of the Little Nemaha
river, and running up the main channel of said river to a
point which, will be ten miles from its mouth, in a direct
line ; from thence, in a direct line, to strike the Grand
Nemaha ten miles from above its mouth in a direct line (the
distance between the two Nernahas being about twenty
miles ;) thence down said river to its mouth ; thence up,
and with the meanders of the Missouri river to the point of
beginning."

By the treaty of September 17th, 1836, the lowas released
their claim to the south part of said reservation, now incorpo-
rated into the State of Missouri, and accepted a reservation
on the west side of the Missouri river, of two hundred
sections on the " Grand Nemaha river ;'" and by another
treaty of the 23rd November, 1837, the lowas relinquished
all the balance of their claim to land on the east side of the
Missouri, on said reservation, for the consideration of
$2,500.

The last treaty would seem to cover all their claims
on the United States; but by their own ingenuity, or
more probably by that of their traders, diverse claims were
made by the lowas, under the treaty of 1824, 1825, 1830,
and 1836, and to satisfy them, and assist in their civilization,
the United States, by another treaty of the 19th of October,
1838, gave the lowas $157,500, to be invested in stocks
paying at least five per cent., the interest of which should
annually be paid to the tribe as long as it exists ; and also
erect for them ten houses. These payments, however,
included the annuities to be paid to the Indians by the trea-
ties before mentioned.

AKANSEA, OR QTJAPAWS. 201

The lowas, iu 1865, bad limited their reservation, by a
late treaty, to twenty-five sections, which are well watered,
have rich soil, and plenty of timber, and are situated along
the south side of the Great Nemaha, extending west from
the Missouri river.

They had 289 acres under cultivation, and have 91 horses,
71 head of cattle, 210 hogs, besides agi'icultural implements
valued at $7,250. Total value, $16,750, besides crops raised.
They had a good school, averaging about thirty-eight
scholars ; but it does not receive its proper consideration
from the lowas.

The tribe sent forty-three soldiers to the war, who per-
formed faithful services in several battles and severe cam-
paigns, principally in the thirteenth and fourteenth Kansas
regiments.

Their agent, September 1, 1865, remarked, in his report:
" They may be seen daily, hauling their corn, vegetables,
wood, etc., to market, and returning with" flour, meat, coffee,
sugar, etc., which they have received in exchange, or pur-
chased with the proceeds of their loads." In 1866 they had
a temperance organization, which made it a crime to get
drunk or bring spirits on the reservation.

In 1825 the lowas were estimated by the Secretary of War
at 1,100. In 1853 there were 437, and in 1865, 294 souls.

They receive from the United States an annuity of $2,850
per year.

AKANSEA, OK QUAPAWS.

This powerful tribe, according to Rev. Father Gravier,
an old missionary to the Illinois previous to 1700, formerly
inhabited the country bordering Ohio river, and the Illinois
and Miamies called that river the " river of the Akansea."
Previous to Marquette's visit to the Mississippi in 1673, the
Arkansas Indians had been driven from the Ohio by the
Iroquois, and had settled on the Arkansas river, where he
found them. He says that "their language is extremely
13*

202 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

difficult, and with all my efforts, I could not succeed in pro-
nouncing some words." This shows that their language,
like the Winnebagoes, was deeply guttural. Marquette, how-
ever, found among them one that could speak Illinois, who
interpreted for him. The name Akansea was an Illinois
word, for they called themselves O-qua-pas, or Qua-paw.
La Salle found three villages of them along the Mississippi,
near the Arkansas river, in 1681. De Tonty soon after
names the " Kappas " on the Mississippi, and, inland, the
Toyengan, or Tongenga, the Toriman, and the Osotonoy,
or Assotone*. He commenced a settlement among them.
Charlevoix, in 1721, makes four villages; and their mis-
sionary, Father Poisson, in 1727, places' them all on the
Arkansas river : " The Tourimans and Tongingas, nine
leagues from the mouth by the lower branch ; the Sauthouis,
three leagues farther ; and the Kappas still higher up." The
Rev. Father Douay, however, returning from La Salle's
expedition in 168?, said that the "Arkansas were formerly
stationed on the upper part of one " of the branches of the
Missouri, " but the Iroquois drove them out by cruel wars
some years ago," and they settled " on the river which now
bears their name." He was evidently ignorant of the fact
that they were driven from the Ohio.

The Rev. Father St. Cosme, descending the Mississippi
in 1699, to become their missionary, said: "We were
much consoled to see ourselves in the places of our mission,
but were sensibly afflicted to see this Acansea nation, once
so numerous, almost entirely destroyed by war and sickness.
It is not a month since they got Over the small-pox, which
carried off the greater part of them."

Father Gravier visited the Akansea in 1701, and found
the Kappa and Tourima bands in a village of forty cabins,
and the Sitteoiii five leagues up the river Arkansas " much
more numerous than " the other two.

The Akansea became allies of the French, and in 1727
and 1728, assisted them in nearly exterminating the Natchez,

OSAGES, OR WA-SAW-SEE. 203

for their massacre of a small French establishment amongst
them, including Father Poisson, who was temporarily at
Natchez.

The Arkansas bands continued to occupy their country
until 1818, when the United States treated with them as the
Quapaw nation, and purchased all their country between
the Arkansas and Red rivers, and north of the Arkansas and
east of the Mississippi, and allowed them a reservation. In
1824, the United States bought their reservation, and the
tribe engaged to be " confined to the district of country
inhabited by the Caddo Indians, and form a part of that
tribe." The Caddos were probably a kindred tribe, and if
so, the O-chunk-o-raw confederacy must have extended far
into Texas. The Quapaws, agreeable to their treaty, set-
tled on the south side of Red river, at Bayou Treache, on
a tract given them by the Caddoes ; but the latter tribe
refused to incorporate them, and as the Raft on Red river
so often flooded their land, they were finally obliged to
abandon it, and in 1833 they made another treaty with the
United States, by which they received one hundred and fifty
sections of land west of the State line of Missouri, near the
Osages, where they soon after settled on the Neosho river.
They enjoyed the benefits of the Catholic manual labor and
girls' schools with the Osages, and had become considerably
advanced in civilization ; but the war of the rebellion deso-
lated their country with fire, and the Quapaws were driven
from their country to the interior of Kansas, and their
houses were plundered. They furnished in 1862, eighty
Union soldiers. The Quapaws were estimated, in 1825, at
700; and in 1853 they numbered 314 on their reservation.

They receive from government $1,000 per year for educa-
tional purposes, and $1,660 for smiths, farmers, etc.

OSAGES, OK WA-SAW-SEE.

This band was first mentioned by Marquette, in 1673, as
occupying the lower Missouri river, from which that river

204 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

was generally called by the Recollect missionaries '" the
great river of the Osages." St. Cosme, in his voyage down
the Mississippi in 1699, called the river "the great river of
the Missourias," from which it obtained the name of Missouri
river. They call themselves the Wa-saw-see. In 1687,
Rev. Father Douay, who was with La Salle when he was
killed, remarking of the Indians on the "famous river of the
Missourias or Osages," locates the Osages with " seven-
teen villages " on a " river of their name, which empties
into that of the Missourites." The Illinois were their com-
mon enemies previous as well as subsequent to the voyage
of Marquette ; but when the Illinois were driven west of the
Mississippi in 1680, by the Iroquois, they fled to the Osages
for protection, and were followed to Osage territory. The
Osages were not well known until modern times, although
they are mentioned from time to time by the French, and
particularly in 1712, as assisting the French at Detroit to
massacre the Foxes. They were a brave people, and never
failed to hold their territory against all enemies, even to the
present day. Mr. Catlin, who visited them in about 1835,
pronounced them the tallest race of men in North America,
either red or white. He found very few less than six feet
high, and many six and a half and seven feet. They evi-
dently have not degenerated from their Winnebago progen-
itors ; and it goes to substantiate the probability that this
was the confederacy referred to as the "Allegewi," in the
traditions of the Delawares ; and that the Delawares were
allies of the Iroquois in the war against this people in 1660.
The first treaty made by the United States with the
Osages was " concluded at Fort Clark, on the right bank
of the Missouri, about five miles above the Fire Prairie, in
the territory of Louisiana, the 10th day of November, 1808."
By this treaty the Osages ceded to the United States all
their territory east of a line running due south from Fort
Clark to the Arkansas river, and down the Arkansas to the
Mississippi, and all their territory north of the Missouri

OSAGES, OB WA-SAW-SEE. 205

river ; for which the United States furnished them a black-
smith, a store of goods " to barter with them on moderate
tej-nis for their peltries and furs," a sum not exceeding
$5,000, to citizens, for the " lawless depredations" of the
Osages, $1,500 in merchandise, and $1,'200 in money.
They also concluded the usual treaty, September 12th, 1815,
of "peace and friendship," and that all previous hostile acts
should " be mutually forgiven and forgot."

The next treaty, September 25th, 1818, ceded to the
United States the following : " Beginning at the Arkansaw
river, at where the present Osage boundary line strikes the
river at Frog Bayou ; then up the Arkansaw and Verdigris
to the falls of Verdigris river ; thence, easterly, to the Osage
boundary line, at a point twenty leagues north of the
Arkansaw river, and with that line to the place of begin-
ning." In consideration, the United States pay not exceed-
ing $4,000, for Indian depredations since 1814.

By a treaty of the 31st August, 1822, the United States
paid the Osages $2,329.40, to be absolved from their con-
tract to furnish a factory or store of goods, under the treaty
of 1808.

By the treaty of June 2nd, 1825, the Osages ceded to the
United States their " lands lying in the State of Missouri
and territory of Arkansas, and all lands lying west of the
State of Missouri and territory of Arkansas, north and west
of the Red river, south of the Kansas river, and east of a
line to be drawn from the head sources of the Kansas,
southwardly through the Rock Saline," with the reservations
as follows : " Beginning at a point due east of White Hairs
village, and twenty-five miles west of the western boundary
line of the State of Missouri, fronting on a north and south
line, so as to leave ten miles north and forty miles south of
the point of said beginning, and extending west, with the
width of fifty miles, to the western boundary of the lands
hereby ceded and relinquished by said tribes or nations ;"
also, some forty -five sections, for a long list of half-breeds ;

206 UPPEE MISSISSIPPI.

also, fifty-four sections, to be laid off by the President and
sold to raise funds for the support of Indian schools. The
United States, in said treaty, release $4,105.80, due them
from the Osages for goods furnished ; and the Indians, in
consideration thereof, " release their claim on the United
States for regular troops to be stationed at Fort Clark, and
also the furnishing of a blacksmith at that place, and the
delivery of merchandise at Fire Prairie," under the treaty
of 1808.

The United States agree to pay the Delawares $1,000;
their own citizens not exceeding $5,000, for Osage "lawless
depredations ;" $6,000 in merchandise ; $2,600 in " horses
and equipage;" $100 to Paul Lois, and the same to Baptiste
Mongrain, and $1,500 to three Indian traders, for debts.

By the treaty of January llth, 1839, the Osages release
all claim to any of their reservations " within the limits of
any other tribe," and also " all claims or interests under the
treaties of November 10th, 1808, and June 2nd, 1825,
except so much of the latter as is contained in the 6th article
thereof; and the said Indians bind themselves to remove
from the lands of other tribes, and to remain within their
own boundaries."

For the consideration of the above, the United States
agreed :

1st. To pay to the Osages $20,000 annually for twenty
years.

2nd. To furnish the Osages, for twenty years, two black-
smiths and two assistants, each to receive two hundred and
twenty-five dollars per year ; also, " each smith to be fur-
nished a dwelling-house, shop and tools, and five hundred
pounds of iron, and sixty pounds of steel, annually."

3rd. To furnish the Osage nation with a grist and saw
mill, a miller to each for fifteen years, and an assistant to
each for eleven years," etc.

4th. To supply them 1,000 cows and calves, 2,000 breed-
ing hogs, 1,000 plows, 1,000 sets of horse gear, 1,000 axes,

OSAGES, OR WA-SAW-SEE. 207

and 1,000 hoes; to be distributed to those which shall form
an agricultural settlement.

5th. To furnish ten chiefs with a house worth two hundred
dollars each, and eleven with a house worth one hundred
dollars each; and also to furnish the chiefs six wagons,
sixteen carts, and twenty-eight yoke of oxen, and yoke and
log chains to each yoke.

6th. To pay all claims for Osage depredations not exceed-
ing $30,000.

7th. To purchase the reservations to individuals at not
exceeding two dollars per acre, made in the treaty of June
2nd, 1825, to be paid to the reservees.

8th. To reimburse $3,000 deducted from their annuity in
1825 to pay for property which has since been returned.

9th. To pay to Clermont's band their proportion of the
annuity of 1829, which was wrongfully withheld from them,
amounting to $3,000.

In 1862 the United States made a treaty purchasing the
Osage reservation, but it had not in 1865 been ratified by
the Senate. The Indians, however, had left their reserva-
tion, and retired some eighty miles to the south-west, under
a state of dissatisfaction, complaining of the non-ratification
of the treaty, and that the United States had not performed
all their agreements in the treaty of 1839.

In September, 1865, a new treaty was made, which was
ratified by the United States, September 21st, 1866. By
this treaty the Osages ceded a large portion of their entire
reservation, which is to be sold, and the funds invested for
the benefit of the tribe ; $80,000 of which are set apart as a
school fund, and a provision was made for their mission
school.

According to Charlevoix, the Catholics early sent mis-
sionaries to the Osages and Missourias ; but one of them lost
his life, and another was long held as prisoner.

In 1820 an effort was made by the Presbyterians to
establish a mission among them, but was subsequently

208 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

abandoned. The Catholics again renewed their efforts in
1846 for their conversion, under Fathers John Shoenraaker
and John Bax, and the Sisters of Loretto opened a school
for girls. Father S., in 1855, reports to the Indian agent
that the " Osages advance but very little towards civiliza-
tion," but he is willing " to bear them testimony that they
are a nation of superior natural talents." He further said :
" At our arrival in this nation we counted five farms ; there
are now twenty-five."

In 1860, Father Shoenmaker's manual labor school
employed four male teachers, and had 125 pupils, and the
Sisters of Loretto had fourteen engaged in teaching the
girls' department, which numbered nearly as many as the
boys; some of these pupils in both departments were
Quapaws. The Indian agent of that year said the school
was." prosperous beyond the most sanguine expectations of
its founders."

The breaking out of the rebellion was disastrous to this
tribe, as they were on the border. About 1,000 of them
went south in 1861, but, probably did not take up arms
against the United States, and most of them had returned
in 1865. The balance, about 2,500, remained loyal to the
United States; and as early as 1862 two hundred and forty
warriors enlisted in the Union army. The whole tribe were
faithful guards to the frontier against guerrillas, and in June,
1863, captured and killed at one time twenty rebel officers
and soldiers, who had come into their country for plunder.
In 1864, the rebels burned aU their houses and plundered
their country.

The schools continued to diminish from year to year,
and in 1865, the agency buildings were burned about the
10th of May, probably by guerrillas, and Father Shoen-
maker's report is missing from the report of the Commis-
sioner of Indian Affairs. They receive an annuity of $3,456
per year for educational purposes.

MISSOURIAS AND OTTOES. 209

MISSOURIAS AND OTTOES.

The first knowledge we have of the Missourias is derived
from Marquette, who marked them on his map as Ouemes-
sourit, and located them on the Missouri river, next above
the Osages. The word is evidently Algonquin, of the
Illinois dialect, but the writer has never found it translated
into English or French. Father Douay is believed by the
writer to have been the first one to give their name to the
great western branch of the Mississippi, in 1687, as the
" river of the Massourites." During the next century we
occasionally find their names mentioned, but nothing defi-
nite in regard to them.

The United States found them on the north side of the
Missouri river, with the Ottoes, and made the usual treaty
of peace with the two tribes, June 24th, 1817.

In the treaty of July 15th, 1830, the Missourias and Ottoes
joined the lowas, Sacs, and Foxes, and several other tribes,
in ceding to the United States their territory on the east side
of the Missouri river, from the Missouri State line extending
up the river to the Big Sioux river, which territory so ceded
was to be " assigned and allotted, under the direction of the
President of the United States, to the tribes now living
thereon, or to such other tribes as the President may locate
thereon, for hunting and other purposes." For this cession
the Missourias and Ottoes received $2,500, and one black-
smith, at the expense of the United States, and the necessary
tools; also, instruments for agricultural purposes to the
amount of five hundred dollars. In the same treaty, part
of the territory of the Ottoes, on the west side of the Mis-
souri, was set oif for a half-breed tract, and it was stipulated
that the Omahas, lowas, and Yanckton and Santee bands of
Sioux, should pay the Ottoes therefor $3,000.

By the treaty of the 21st of September, 1833, the Ottoes
and Missourias ceded the following territory to the United
14

210 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

States : " Beginning on the Little Nemaha, at the north-
west corner of the land reserved by treaty at Prairie Du
Chien, on the 15th of July, 1830 (see lowas, page 199), in favor
of certain half-breeds, of the Omahas, lowas, Ottoes, and
Yanckton and Santee's band of Sioux, and running west-
erly with said Little Nenaaha, to the head branches of the
same ; and thence running in a due west line as far west as
said Ottoes and Missourias have, or pretend to have, any
claim." By this treaty the two tribes agreed to locate
themselves in such convenient agricultural districts as the
President may think proper ;" and also expressed " their
entire willingness to abandon the chase for an agricultural
life." The United States agreed, when they are settled by
the President on their new reservation, to continue their
. annuity for ten years from 1840, for $500 ; also, $500 annu-
ally for five years for schools ; also erect a horse-mill for
grinding corn, and provide two farmers to reside in the
nation to instruct and assist said tribe for the term of five
years; also deliver them $1,000 value in stock, to be placed
in care of their agent. In addition to this, the United
States extended their annuity by treaty of 1830, $2,500, ten
years from 1840; and also paid them, at the time of the
treaty, $400 worth of goods.

By the treaty of October 15th, 1836, they relinquished
their claim to the piece of land between the State of Mis-
souri and the river, afterwards added to Missouri, for which
the Ottoes received $1,250, and the Missourias $1,000. The
Ottoes and Missourias also received 500 bushels of corn,
having failed to raise a crop that season, on account of
having removed that spring on to the tract which had been
selected for them by the President.

By the treaty of 1854, amended and ratified April 10th,
1855, the Missourias and Ottoes ceded to the United States
all their land west of the Missouri except their reservation
on Big Blue river, defined as follows: Commencing
five miles due east of a point in the middle of the main

MI8SOUEIA8 AND OTTOES. 211

branch of the Big Blue river, at a place called by the Indians
the Islands, south-west of Fort Kearney ; " thence west
twenty-five miles ; thence north ten miles ; thence east to a
point due north of the starting-point, and ten miles there-
from ; thence to the place of beginning." By this treaty
they consented to a survey and allotment in severally of
their reservation. Upon this reservation these tribes re-
moved in July, 1855, and the first of November of that
year government had broke for them 100 acres of prairie,
built one house and one smith-shop, and put up 100 tons of
hay. In 1858 government put them up a steam saw and
grist-mill. In 1860 their crops of 250 acres were an entire
failure by drouth. In 1865 the farmer reported that the
Indians had " manifested a much greater interest in agri-
culture than the year previous, and that their crops were
good. The mills were doing well, and grinding for both
whites and Indians.

In November, 1854, government arranged with the Pres-
byterian Board of Missions to open and conduct a mission
school for five years, and paid them the $500 per year
agreed to in the treaty of 1833, which expired in June, 1860,
since which time no school has been open. This school was
under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Guthrie, and proved a
complete failure, he having failed to interest the Indians to
send to the school. The agent, in 1858, said the Indians
" never will, unless compelled to, send their children to this
school," and the agent recommends that the school be dis-
continued.

In 1853, the two tribes were reported at 1,000 souls, but
in 1855 the agent estimated them at only 600. By the cen-
sus of 1865, they then numbered 508. They furnished only
four soldiers for the Union army, but were involved in war
with the south-western Indians, and were loyal to our gov-
ernment. They, however, enrolled fifty young men for
General Lane's " Indian regiment," which, however, were
not called for.

212 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

The total annuity now due the Indians, under the treaty
of 1854, amounts to $221,000, which is divided into some
thirty annual installments.

The report of 1866 urges the establishment of a school,
which was earnestly requested by the tribes ; alleges coh-
stant trespasses on their timber lands by the whites, and
represents some progress in agriculture.

KANSAS, OK KAWS.

This tribe was located, by Marquette, west of the Osages,
and next to the Pancassa or Pawnees, which seems to have
continued as their locality to the present day. We know
comparatively nothing of their wars, except that the whole
O-chunk-o-raw confederacy were more or less at war with
the Illinois in early times, the Sacs and Foxes at a later day,
and almost continually with the Pawnees. Even the Win-
nebagoes, at Green Bay, have often sent war parties against
the Pawnees within the memory of the old French.

The United States made their usual treaty of peace with
the Kansas, October 28, 1815 ; and June 3, 1825, they made
another treaty, the first article of which was as follows :

" The Kansas do hereby cede to the United States all the
lands lying within the State of Missouri, to which the said
nation have title or claim ; and do further cede and relin-
quish to the said United States, ah1 other lands w^hich they
now occupy, or to which they have title or claim, lying west
of the said State of Missouri, and within the following boun-
daries : Beginning at the entrance of the Kansas river into
the Missouri river; from thence north to the north-west
corner of the State of Missouri ; from thence westwardly to
the Nodewa river, thirty miles from its entrance into the
Missouri ; from thence to the entrance of the Big Nemaha
river into the Missouri, and with that river to its source ;
from thence to the sources of the Kansas river, leaving the
old village of the Pania Republic to the west ; from thence,
on the ridge dividing the waters of the Kansas river from

KANSAS, OR RAWS. 213

those of the Arkansas, to the western boundary of the State
line of Missouri, and with that line, thirty miles, to the place
of beginning."

The second article of said treaty provided for a reserva-
tion as follows :

" From the cession aforesaid, the following reservation
for the use of the Kansas nation of Indians shall be made,
of a tract of land, to begin twenty leagues up the Kansas
river, and to include their village on that river, extending
west thirty miles in width, through the lands ceded in the
first article, to be surveyed and marked under the direction
of the President," etc.

The consideration of this purchase was " $3,500 per
annum for twenty successive years."

The United States also furnished the Kansas 300 head of
cattle, 300 hogs, 500 domestic fowls, three yoke of oxen,
and two carts, " with such implements of agriculture as the
superintendent of Indian affairs may think necessary ; and
shall employ such persons to aid and instruct them in their
agriculture, as the President of the United States may deem
expedient ; and shall provide and support a blacksmith for
them."

Article fifth provides : " Out of the lands herein ceded
by the Kansas nation to the United States, the commis-
sioner aforesaid, in behalf of the said United States, doth
further covenant and agree, that thirty-six sections of
good lands on the Big Blue river, shall be laid out under
the direction of the President of the United States, and sold
for the purpose of raising a fund, to be applied under the
direction of the President to the support of schools for the
education of the Kansas children within their nation."

The United States also stipulated to give twenty-three
half-breeds of the Kansas a section of land each of one mile
square, commencing at the reservation on the north side of
the Kansas river, and extending down the river. They also
agree to pay, not exceeding $3,000, for Indian depredations

214 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

since 1815 ; also pay Frai^ois G. Choteau $500, towards
the liquidation of Indian debts to him ; aleo pay $4,000,
" which, together with the amount agreed on in the third
and fourth articles, and the provisions made in the other
articles of this treaty, shall be considered as a full compen-
sation for the cession herein made."

There were provisions for the delivery of stolen property
and the punishment of offenders.

By another treaty of the 16th of August, 1825, the Kansas
tribe cede the privilege of a highway through their land,
for which they received eight hundred dollars.

Article I. of the treaty of 1859, proclaimed by the Presi-
dent November 17th, 1860, provides:

" The Kansas Indians having now more lands than are
necessary for their use, and being desirous of promoting
settled habits of industry amongst themselves, by abolishing
the tenure in common by which they now hold their lands,
and by assigning limited quantities thereof in severalty to
the members of their tribe owning an interest in their
present reservation, to be cultivated and improved for their
individual use and benefit, it is agreed and stipulated that
that portion of their reservation commencing at the south-
west corner of said reservation, thence north with the west
boundary nine miles ; thence east fourteen miles ; thence
south nine miles; thence west with the south boundary
fourteen miles, to the place of beginning, shall be set apart
and retained by them for said purposes ; and that out of the
same there shall be assigned to each head of a family not
exceeding forty acres, and to each member thereof not
exceeding forty acres ; and to each single male person of the
age of twenty-one years and upwards not exceeding forty
acres of land, to include in every case, as far as practicable,
a reasonable proportion of timber. One hundred and sixty
acres of said retained lands, in a suitable locality, shall also
be set apart and appropriated to the occupancy and use of
the agency of said Indians, and one hundred and sixty

KANSAS, OB KAWS. 215

acres of said lands shall also be reserved for the establish-
ment of a school for the education of the youth of the tribe."
By article 4th of the same treaty, it is provided that the
surplus, after locating all the said Indians as aforesaid,
might be sold for the benefit of the said tribe, and for assist-
ing in making agricultural improvements, and for the pay-
ment of Indian debts. The tribe also make further provisions
for more half-breeds.

This tribe has not particularly attracted attention until
lately; and in 1855, agent Montgomery wrote of them in
his report, that their annuity " is mostly laid out for pro-
visions and whisky;" that about the middle of June of that
year " the small-pox broke out amongst them, and has con-
tinued to prove fatal with the greater number of them, it
seems, to the great satisfaction and admiration of all those
who have any acquaintance with the Kaws." ..." They
have no school, and it appears that what they have had has
been only a dead expense to the government." . . .
" The Kansas are a poor, degraded, superstitious, thievish,
indigent tribe of Indians ; their tendency is downward, and,
in my opinion, they must soon become extinct; and the
sooner they arrive at this period, the better it will be for
the rest of mankind."

To this report Mr. Manypenny, the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs, replied that the agent spoke " in very
improper terms" of " those untutored wards of the govern-
ment ;" and " that instead of designing their extermination,
he should employ the best means within his reach calculated
to promote their welfare and improvement," etc.

In March, 1862, their lands having been surveyed, were
allotted to them in severalty, and that year they commenced
civilization in earnest. The agent said of them that " they
have been provided with comfortable and substantial stone
houses, which they now occupy." ..." They have
cultivated, for the first time in many years, considerable
fields of corn, potatoes and other vegetables. The new

5216 UPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

fields were broken too late for use." He also said that their
pew school buildings were ready for teachers; but they
need a blacksmith, mill, etc.

In May, 1863, their mission school went into operation,
under the charge of the Society of Friends, with thirty-five
scholars, and was quite successful. Mr. Hauifaker their
farmer, reported that they "were cultivating over three
hundred acres, and are well pleased with their new mode of
life ;" but labored under the difficulty of having an " insuffi-
cient number of oxen, ploughs and other agricultural imple-
ments;" and that more than eighty of the Indians had
" enlisted in the United States service during the past
year."

In 1865 they cultivated four hundred acres, and raised
350 bushels of wheat, 9,000 bushels of corn, 500 bushels of
oats, and 750 bushels of potatoes. Their annuities were
$10,000 annually.

In 1853 the Kansas numbered 1,375; in 1860, 803; in
1862, 775; in 1864, 701; and in 1865, 631. This shows a
large decrease annually, which is in part explained by the
fact that they still continue their buffalo hunts in the summer
to the west, and their probable losses in the late war of the
rebellion. However, at that rate, the " wards of govern-
ment" will soon disappear like the " children of the woods."

By the report of the agent in September, 1866, it appears
that the most of this tribe spent the previous winter in the
buffalo country, and killed 3,000 buffalo ; that the Santa Fe
traders constantly sold them whisky ; that thirty of their
children attended the mission school, and made some pro-
gress during the winter, twelve learning to read, but most
of them returned home in the spring, when their parents
returned from the hunt ; that many of their horses had been
stolen by white men ; and that the children at school,
" when treated kindly, seem to be of an affectionate disposi-
tion." The mission school is in charge of the " Friends,"
who are under contract to the government " to receive the

OMAHAS. 217

Indian children to the buildings and farm, and give them
a good English education to the extent of their capacity ;
and, in addition, to teach the boys farming, and the use of
tools and agricultural implements, and the girls the various
branches of housewifery, including sewing and knitting, and
dairy operations, and whatever may tend to their civiliza-
tion.

The treaty of 1864, providing for the sale of their lands to
the United States, and their removal to the Indian territory,
had not been ratified by the Senate in November, 1866.

This tribe was also located by Marquette on the Missouri,
north-west of the Missourias, under the name of Mama.
They joined with the Missourias and several other tribes, in
the treaty of July 15th, 1830, and in that of October 15th,
1836.

By the treaty of 1854 the Omahas ceded all their lands
west of the Missouri, " and south of a line drawn due west
from a point in the centre of the main channel of said
Missouri river, due east of where the Ayoway river disem-
bogues out of the bluffs, to the western boundary of the
Omaha country, and forever relinquish all right and title to
the country south of said line," reserving the country north
of said line for their home.

The sixth article provided for a survey, and allotment in
severalty of the reservation.

The United States also agree to protect them on their
reservation from the Sioux and other hostile tribes; also
" erect for the Omahas, at their new home, a grist and saw-
mill, and keep the same in repair, and provide a miller for
ten years ; also to erect a good blacksmith shop, supply the
same with tools, and keep it in repair for ten years, and
provide a good blacksmith for a like period ; and to employ
an experienced farmer for the term of ten years, to instruct
the Indians in agriculture." They gave the Presbyterian
14*

218 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Board a section of land to include the then buildings, and
gave a right of way for roads and railroads through their
reservation. •

The United States agreed to pay them $40,000 per annum
for three years, $30,000 per annum for ten years, $20,000
per annum for fifteen years, and $10,000 per annum for
twelve years ; each annuity to commence when the other
was paid in the aforesaid order ; also the further sum of
$41,000, to be expended by the President in establishing
and maintaining them on the reservation.

The tribe went on their reservation and progressed
finely, and in 1865 had 945 acres under a good state of
cultivation. Their mission school was under the supervision
of Rev. R. J. Burtt, with four assistant teachers, and had
forty -five scholars. The school received $4,476.23 from the
Presbyterian Mission Board, and $3,750 from the tribe,
annually. The census of 1865 was 1,002, showing an
increase of thirty-one over the previous year. Indeed, the
tribe has increased a small per cent, for several years. They
have banished whisky from the reservation. The tribe has
been loyal, and have put 260 soldiers into the Union army.
Of their annuities, $480,000 are yet to be paid.

This tribe invited the Winnebagoes, their " elder bro-
thers," to settle with them, and sold them, through the
United States, a part of their reservation.

The treaty, selling a part of their reservation to the
United States for the benefit of the Winnebagoes, was
ratified February 15, 1866, by the President, by which they
get $50,000, besides the extension of the provisions of the
eighth article of a former treaty for ten years, and $7,000
damages from the Winnebagoes.

By the agent's report of August 1, 1866, the tribe was in
a prosperous condition, the most of the people had put on
the white man's clothing, and lived in comfortable houses ;
and their mission school, then under the superintendence of
Old School Presbyterians, had sixty-one scholars, of which

PONCAS. 219

nineteen were girls, and forty-two boys — all making good
progress. They had been blessed with a revival of religion.
The tribe, during the summer of 1866, cultivated 1,830
acres — 485 more than the previous year — and raised
73, 630 bushels of grain, besides potatoes, beets, carrots, and
turnips. The chiefs and head men of the tribe have peti-
tioned for a survey and allotment in severalty of their
reservation.

PONCAS.

Marquette mentions a tribe near the Maha, by the name
of Pana, which is probably the same as the Ponca of the
present day. The United States made their usual treaty of
peace with this tribe in 1817, and another for trade in 1825.

By that of May 12, 1858, they ceded to the United States
all their lands, except the following reservation for their
future homes : " Beginning at a point on the Neobrara
river, and running due north so as to intersect the Ponca
river twenty-five miles from its mouth ; thence from said
point of intersection, up and along the Ponca river twenty
miles ; thence due south to the Neobrara river ; and thence
down and along said river to the place of beginning."

For this cession the United States agreed to protect the
Poncas on their reservation, pay them $12,000 per annum
for five years, $10,000 per annum for ten years, $8,000 per
annum for fifteen years ; and expend $20,000 " in maintain-
ing and subsisting the Poncas during the first year after
their removal to their new homes, purchasing stock and
agricultural implements, breaking up and fencing land,
building houses, and in making such other improvements as
may be necessary for their comfort and welfare."

" To establish, and to maintain for ten years, at an annual
expense not to exceed $5,000, one or more manual labor
schools, for the education and training of the Ponca youth
in letters, agriculture, the mechanic arts, and housewifery ;
which school or schools shall be managed and conducted in

220 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

such manner as the President of the United States shall
direct ; the Poncas hereby stipulating to constantly keep
thereat, during at least nire months in every year, all their
children between the ages of seven and eighteen years.

" The United States also pay not exceeding $10,500, to
be expended in the erection of mills, dwelling-houses, shops,
etc., for the benefit of the Poncas ; and also to expend
annually, for ten years, or during the pleasure of the Presi-
dent, an amount not exceeding $7,500, for the purpose of
furnishing said Indians with such aid and assistance in agri-
cultural and mechanical pursuits, including the working of
said mill, as the Secretary of the Interior may consider
advantageous and necessary for them ; the Poncas hereby
stipulating to furnish from their tribe the number of young
men that may be required as apprentices and assistants in
the mills and mechanics' shops, and at least three persons to
work constantly with each laborer employed for them in
agricultural pursuits."

The United States also set aside $20,000 for the payment
of Ponca debts; also the United States gave scrip for 160
acres of land each, to eight half-breeds, and Francis Roy,
their interpreter.

The Poncas agree that if any of them " shall drink, or
procure for others intoxicating liquor, their proportion of
the tribal annuities shall be withheld for at least one year."

The Poncas also reserve the right to allot in severalty,
their reservation " among themselves, giving to each head
of family or single person a farm, with such rights of pos-
session or transfer to any other member of the tribe, or of
descent to their heirs and representatives, as may be in
accordance with the laws, customs, and regulations of the
tribe."

The Ponca reservation proving a " barren waste, destitute
of wood for lumber and for fuel, and of grass for hay," a
new treaty was made with them in March, 1865, giving
them a new reservation in the valley of the Missouri river,

MANDANS. 221

about twelve miles long, and from one to two miles wide,
and containing an abundance of timber, grass, and water.
That treaty had not been confirmed by the Senate in the fall
of 1866.

The manual labor school provided for in the treaty of
1858, had not been opened as late as September 30, 1865,
but the Poncas were still urging its establishment.

The population of the Poncas amounted, in 1865, to 1,100,
according to government documents.

By the agent's report of September 10, 1866, it appears
that this tribe were making some progress in farming, hav-
ing five hundred acres under cultivation ; but were in an
unsettled condition on account of the non-ratification of the
treaty of 1865. They have no school or mission.

MANDANS.

This tribe was not named in the list of Missouri river
Indians by Marquette, but the Sacs and Foxes included
them in their raids west of the Mississippi.

In 1825 they were at war with the United States, but July
30th, of that year, concluded a peace.

About 1833 Mr. Catlin visited this tribe, and painted
many of the portraits of the principal men. At that time
they inhabited two villages about two miles apart, on the
west side of the Missouri river, two hundred miles below
the mouth of the Yellow Stone, and numbered nearly 2,000
persons. Within the memory of many of those now living,
their location was some eighty miles further down the river,
and numbered ten villages.

Their traditions, related to Mr. Catlin, carry them back to
the Ohio river, from whence they were driven to the Mis-
souri. Mr. Catlin saw " many remains on the river below
these places (and, in fact, to be seen nearly as low down as
St. Louis), which show clearly the peculiar construction of
Mandan lodges." These lodges were always surrounded
with a ditch two feet deep, which long remains, and distin-

222 UPPEB MISSISSIPPI.

guishes unmistakably their locality. Mr. Catlin subse-
quently says that he noticed about twenty points down the
river, where he found evidence of Mandan villages ; and at
one, five hundred miles below their then residence, he found
two hundred skulls arranged in a circle in the peculiar Man-
dan order ; but the skulls had so long been there that they
would crumble to powder. This would indicate a residence
there probably one hundred and fifty years previous. The
name which the tribe call themselves, See-pohs-kah-nu-mah-
kah-kee, or "people of the pheasants," may indicate an
Ohio origin, as pheasants are a very scarce bird on the
Missouri river. They claim to have been the original
people created, to have once been very numerous, but had
become much reduced by old wars.

In 1838 the traders carried the small-pox to the Mandan
villages, and the greater part of them died. A few of them
still maintain their tribal name in the Dakota territory, near
the Gros-Ventres and Arickarees ; and all three of those
tribes in 1865 only contained 2,500 persons.

We have placed the Mandans in the O-chunk-o-raw con-
federacy, on account of their traditions, residences, and lan-
guage ; for by traditions they were from the Ohio, and the
Rev. Father De Smet, the Oregon missionary, speaking of
the Winnebagoes in 1865, said " they appear to be distinctly
related to the Mandans, there being a similarity in their
respective languages." They were probably a band of the
" Akansea," driven from the Ohio by the Iroquois about
1660, and fled up the Missouri, instead of following their
tribe to the Arkansas river.

Mr. Catlin, however, argues that they might have been
the Mound-Builders of Ohio, and descendants of Modoc,
the Welsh captain, who, it is said, left Europe for the west in
the thirteenth century, with ten ships, and was never heard
from afterwards. We answer that hypothesis by reference
to the well-established fact, that a portion of the mounds of
Ohio are more than 1,000 years old, and such is their extent

MANDAN8. 223

that Modoc and his followers could not have built them in
2,000 years. Besides, the Welsh had no customs OF super-
stitions at that day which would probably have led them to
undertake such an amount of labor. Indeed, the writer
believes that the Indians of America show no evidence of a
European origin for the last thousand years.

At present, the Mandans are associated with the Arick-
arees and Gros-Ventres, who may be a kindred people.
The government made a treaty with them collectively in
1866, by which they obtained a cession of a tract of land
twenty-five by forty miles, together with the right of way
across their territory. It also contained provisions in aid
of the civilization of the bands.

CHAPTER XL

DAKOTA, OK SIOUX CONFEDERACY.

THIS powerful confederacy was called by the Algonquin
nations " Nadouessioux," or " Enemies/' a word clothed in
French orthography, which was abbreviated or contracted
to " Sioux," (Soo,) the common name for the tribe among
the English and French traders for* the last two hundred
years. They, however, called themselves Dakota, or Con-
fe<lejia.tes.

They spoke the same language, and claimed in their tradi-
tions that they were originally created at Mille Lac, the seat
of their empire, when first visited by Rev. Father Hennepin
in 1680. Their territory extended from Lake Superior to
the Rocky mountains. When the Algonquin nations were
crowded back upon them, about the middle of the seven-
teenth century, they became involved with those nations in
constant wars to defend their eastern frontier.

When the English settled Hudson's Bay, they furnished
the Chiistinaux with fire-arms, and they thereby enabled
that tribe to force a peace with the Assiniboins, or Rock
Indians, the northern band of the Sioux, by which that band
became alienated from the confederacy. This peace was
the one probably negotiated by the French officer, De Lut,
in 1679.

The aggressions of the fugitive Algonquins and Hurons
upon the Sioux becoming unbearable, in the spring of 1671
they attacked those tribes at the head of Lake Superior,

DAKOTA, OR SIOUX CONFEDERACY. 225

and cleared the lake of their enemies. The Chippeways
returned to the falls of St. Mary, the Ottawas to the islands
on the north side of Lake Huron, and the Hurons to Mack-
inaw island, while the Sacs, Foxes, Miamies, Mascotens and
Kickapoos returned to the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, and
the Illinois to their home on the river of that name. This
war was settled by De Lut, in 1679, by peace between the
Chippeways, Christinaux, and Assiniboins, but on the
south it continued until 1702.

In 1700, the southern bands of the Sioux, who do noT
appear to have ever been reconciled to the Christinaux,
killed some of the latter tribe which they found among the
Assiniboins ; upon which the war was renewed, the latter
band taking the part of the Christinaux. The Chippe-
ways joined the northern confederacy. The Sacs and Foxes,
and their confederates, becoming dissatisfied with the Chip-
peways, in 1702 were induced by the Sioux to make peace
and join the latter tribe. Here commenced the great war
which, in later years, has been called the " hereditary war
between the Sioux and Chippeways."

The Assiniboins, who lived on the west of Lake Superior,
soon passed west of the Red river of the north, perhaps to
avoid the war path, while many of the Ottawas and other
northern Algonquin nations joined the Chippeways, and in
process of time became known as the " Ojibwa confeder-
acy." This powerful confederacy, constantly receiving
reinforcements from the northern hordes, continued to press
down upon the Sioux until the treaty of Prairie Du Chien,
in 1825, when they made good their title to the territory
extending south to St. Croix falls and Sauk rapids, and
west to the Red river of the north. When Hole-in-the-Day,
at that treaty, was asked by the commissioner why he
claimed so far south and west, he arose and with great
emphasis declared, " We conquered it." This left to the
conquerors the ancient home of the Dakotas at Mille Lac,
15

226 UPPKK MISSISSIPPI.

where they claimed that they were created by Wakon, the
Great Spirit.

When the Dakotas were visited by Le Sueur in 1700, they
enumerated by name sixteen bands, without including the
Assiniboins, which then constituted their confederacy.

It is not easy to name these bands at the present time,
but the following are known to exist :

Resided in Minnesota, and originated the mas-
sacre in 18612.

Resided in Minnesota, and were called " upper
bands." These four bands are often called
Santees. Reservation at Fort Randall.

Reside in Dakota territory.

Wahpakoota,
Medawakanton,

Wahpaton,
Sisseton,

Yankton
Yanktonai,
Bnile, -
Two Kettle, o

Teton, -
Blackfcet.
Minnecongou,
Oncpapas,
Sans Arcs,
Ogallallas,
Assiniboins, -

The language of the Dakota, or Confederates, is peculiar
to that nation, and, although guttural, is readily learned by
traders and missionaries. The latter have collected it into
a dictionary with grammatical rules, and also translated the
Bible into it.

After the war with Great Britain closed, the United
States made treaties of peace -with the most of the Dakotas.
In 1825 the United States called together the several north-
western tribes at Prairie Du Chien, with a view of inducing
the Indians to define and settle their territorial boundaries,
and establish a general peace, but the scheme was only
partially successful They succeeded, however, in estab-
lishing a line between the Sioux and Chippeways, which,
we believe, was acquiesced in by those two nations, and
was as follows : Beginning " at the Chippewa river, half a
day's march below the fells ; and from thence it shall run
to Red Cedar river, immediately below the falls; from

DAKOTA, OB SIOUX COXFKDERACT. 227

thence to the St. Croix river, which it strikes at a place
called the Standing Cedar, about a day's paddle in a canoe
above the hike, at the month of that river ; thence passing
between two lakes, called by the Chippeways * Green lakes,4
and by the Sioux ' the lakeg they bury the eagles in ;' from
thence to the standing cedar that * the Sioux split ;' thence
to Rom river, crossing it at the mouth of a small creek
called * Choking creek,79 a long day's march from the Mis-
sissippi ; thence to a point of woods that propels into the
prairie, half a day's inarch from the Mississippi ; thence in
a straight line to the month of the first river which enters
the Mississippi on its west side above die month of Sac
river ; thence ascending the said river (above the mouth of
Sac river) to a small lake at its source ; thence in a direct
line to a lake at the head of Prairie river, which is supposed
to enter the Crow Wing river on its south side ; thence to
Otter-tail lake portage ; thence to said Otter-tail lake, and
down through the middle thereof to its outlet ; thence in a
direct line so as to strike Buffalo river, half way from its
source to its mouth, and down the said river to Red river ;
thence descending Red river to the month of Outard or
Goose creek." ..." The eastern boundary of the Sioux
commences opposite the mouth of Iowa river (upper Iowa,)
on the Mississippi, runs back two or three miles to the
bluffs, follows the bluffs, crossing Bad Ax river to the month
of Black river, and from Black river to half a day's march
below the falls of the Chippewa river."

By the treaty of September 29, 1837, the Sioux " ceded
to the United States all their lands east of the Mississippi
river, and all their islands in the said river." A reference
to the boundary aforesaid, described in the treaty of 1825,
will show the extent of this purchase.

The following provisions of the treaty of 1837 wifl show
the consideration paid the Sioux for said land, and for con-
tinuing the initiatory steps taken by the United States for
civilizing those Indians in 1830:

228 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

"ARTICLE II. In consideration of the cession contained
in the preceding article, the United States agree to the fol-
lowing stipulations on their part :

"1st. To invest the sum of $300,000 in such safe and
profitable State stocks as the President may direct, and to
pay to the chiefs and braves as aforesaid, annually, forever,
an income of not less than five per cent, thereon ; a portion
of said interest, not exceeding one-third, to be applied in
such manner as the President may direct, and the residue to
be paid in specie, or such other manner, and for such
objects, as the proper authorities of the tribe may designate.

" 2nd. To pay to the relatives and friends of the chiefs
and braves, as aforesaid, having not less than one quarter
of Sioux blood, $110,000, to be distributed by the proper
authorities of the tribe, upon principles to be determined by
the chiefs and braves signing this treaty, and the war
department.

" 3rd. To apply the sum of $90,000 to the payment of
just debts of the Sioux Indians, interested in the lands
herewith ceded.

" 4th. To pay to the chiefs and braves, as aforesaid, an
annuity for twenty years of $10,000 in goods, to be purchased
under the direction of the President, and delivered at the
expense of the United States.

" 5th. To expend annually, for twenty years, for the
benefit of Sioux Indians, parties to this treaty, the sum of
$8,250, in the purchase of medicines, agricultural imple-
ments, and stock, and for the support of a physician,
farmers, and blacksmiths, and for other beneficial objects.

" 6th. In order to enable the Indians aforesaid to break
up and improve their lands, the United States will supply,
as soon as practicable after the ratification of this treaty,
agricultural implements, mechanics' tools, cattle, and such
other articles as may be useful to them, to an amount not
exceeding $10,000.

" 7th. To expend annually, for twenty years, the sum of

DAKOTA, OE SIOUX CONFEDERACY. 229

$5,500, in the purchase of provisions, to be delivered at the
expense of the United States.

" 8th. To deliver to the chiefs and braves signing this
treaty, upon their arrival at St. Louis, $6,000 in goods."

Under this treaty, the Sioux removed all their bands to
the west bank of the Mississippi in 1838.

By the treaty of September 10, 1836, Wa-ba-shaw's band
of the Sioux released to the United States their interest in
the tract of country between the Missouri State line and
Missouri river, which was afterwards attached to that State,
and became slave territory. A similar release was obtained
from the Yankton and Santee bands of Sioux, and from the
Ottoes, Missourias, and Ornahas, by the treaty of October
15th, 1836; and from the Wah-pa-kootah, Sissaton and
upper Medawakanton bands of the Sioux, by treaty of
November 30, 1836.

By the treaty of Prairie Du Chien, of August 19, 1825,
the boundary line between the Sioux and Sacs and Foxes,
was established as follows : " Commencing at the mouth
of the upper Iowa river, on the west bank of the Missis-
sippi, and ascending the said Iowa river to its left fork ;
thence up that fork to its source ; thence crossing the fork
of Red Cedar river in a direct line, to the second or upper
fork of the Des Moines river ; thence in a direct line to the
lower fork of the Calumet river, and down that river to the
Missouri river."

By article third of the treaty at Prairie Du Chien, July
15th, 1830, the Medawakantons, Wah-pa-koota, Wahpatons,
and Sissatons bauds of the Sioux, "cede and relinquish to
the United States, forever, a tract of country twenty miles
in width, from the Mississippi to the Des Moines river, situ-
ated north, and adjoining" the aforesaid line ; and the same
bands, with the Yankton and Santee bands of Sioux, and
the lowas, Ottoes, Omahas and Missourias, further cede to
the United States the country from the following line to the
State of Missouri, as Indian territory for colonization :

230 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

" Beginning at the upper fork of the Des Moines river, and
passing the sources of the Little Sioux and Floyd's rivers,
to the forks of the first creek which falls into the Big Sioux
or Calumet on the east side ; thence down said creek and
Calumet river to the Missouri river."

This " Indian territory " was afterwards abandoned, and
the Indians transferred to the west bank of the Missouri.
It was in this treaty that the " half-breed reservation " was
set off on the west side of the Mississippi and Lake Pepin,
fifteen miles wide, and extending down the Mississippi from
Red Wing thirty-two miles, to opposite the mouth of Buffalo
river.

For these purchases, the United States agreed to pay
annually for ten years, to the Yankton and Santee bands,
$3,000, and to the other Sioux bands, $2,000 ; and also
furnish the latter Sioux bands " one blacksmith and the
necessary tools, at the expense of the United States ; also
instruments for agricultural purposes, and iron and steel to
the amount of $700 annually, for ten years," and as much
longer as the President may think proper ; and also furnish
for the same period to the former Sioux bands, a blacksmith
and tools, and agricultural implements to the amount of
$400. The United States also paid and distributed among
the several tribes who signed the treaty, in goods, $5,132,
and set apart for educational purposes $3,000, to be paid
annually for ten years.

The great tide of emigration having in good earnest
reached the upper Mississippi valley in 1850, the United
States government were pressed for more Indian lands to
accommodate the millions of all nations of the world, who
were looking earnestly for homes in the finest agricultural
region of the north-west ; and the authorities at Washington
consequently turned their attention to the rich territories of
the chivalrous Sioux. The thousands of bold warriors from
the mighty Mississippi to the snow-clad Rocky mountains,
were summoned to meet the high officials at Traverse Des

DAKOTA, OR SIOUX CONFEDERACY. 231

/Sioux, on the Minnesota river, in the summer of 1851, where
they were feasted and petted at government expense for
nearly a month, when the terms of the two following
treaties were agreed upon, and signed by L. Lea, the com-
missioner of Indian affairs, and Governor Ramsey, of Min-
nesota territory.

The first was signed July 23rd, 1851, and the following
is a copy of the several articles :

" ARTICLE I. It is stipulated and solemnly agreed, that
the peace and friendship now so happily existing between
the United States and the aforesaid bands of Indians shall
be perpetual.

" ARTICLE II. The said See-see-toan and Wah-pay-toan
bands of Dakota or Sioux Indians agree to cede, and do
hereby cede, sell, and relinquish to the United States, all
their lands in the State of Iowa ; and, also, all their lands
in the territory of Minnesota, lying east of the following
line, to wit: Beginning at the junction of the Buffalo river
with the Red river of the north ; thence along the western
bank of said Red river of the north to the mouth of the
Sioux Wood river ; thence along the western bank of said
Sioux Wood river to Lake Traverse; thence along the
western shore of said lake to the southern extremity thereof;
thence in a direct line to the junction of Kampeska lake
with the Tchan-kas-an-data or Sioux river; thence along
the western bank of said river to its point of intersection
with the northern line of the State of Iowa, including all the
islands in said rivers and lake.

ARTICLE III. In part consideration of the foregoing ces-
sion, the United States do hereby set apart for the future
occupancy and home of the Dakota Indians, parties to this
treaty, to be held by them as Indian lands are held, all that
tract of country on either side of the Minnesota river from
the Western boundary of the lands herein ceded, east to
the Tchay-tam Bay river on the north, and to the Yellow
Medicine river on the south side, to extend, on each side, a

232 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

distance of not less than ten miles from the general course
of said river, the boundaries of said tract to be marked out
by as straight lines as practicable, whenever deemed expe-
dient by the President, and in such manner as he shall
direct.

" ARTICLE IV. In further and full consideration of said
cession, the United States agree to pay to said Indians the
sum of $1,665,000 at the several times, in the manner and
for the purposes following, to wit :

" 1st. To the chiefs of the said bands, to enable them
to settle their affairs and comply with their present just
engagements ; and in consideration of their removing them-
selves to the country set apart for them as above, which
they agree to do within two years, or sooner, if required by
the President, without further cost or expense to the United
States, and in consideration of their subsisting themselves
the first year after their removal, which they agree to do
without further cost or expense on the part of the United
States, the sum of $275,000. Provided, That said sum
shall be paid to the chiefs in such manner as they hereafter,
in open council, shah1 request, and as soon after the removal
of said Indians to the home set apart for them as the neces-
sary appropriation therefor shall be made by Congress.

" 2nd. To be laid out, under the direction of the Presi-
dent, for the establishment of manual labor schools, the
erection of mills and blacksmith shops, opening farms,
fencing and breaking land, and for such other beneficial
objects as may be deemed most conducive to the prosperity
and happiness of said Indians, $30,000.

"The balance of said sum of $1,665,000, to wit,
$1,360,000, to remain in trust with the United States, and
five per cent, interest thereon to be paid annually to said
Indians for the period of fifty years, commencing the first
day of July, 1852, which shall be in full payment of said
balance, principal and interest; the said payment to be

DAKOTA, OR SIOUX CONFEDERACY. 233

applied, under the direction of the President, as follows, to
wit:

" 3rd. For a general agricultural improvement and civil-
ization fund, the sum of $12,000.

" 4th. For educational purposes, the sum of $6,000.

" 5th. For the purchase of goods and provisions, the sum
of $10,000,000.

" 6th. For money annuity, the sum of $40,000.

" ARTICLE V. The laws of the United States prohibiting
the introduction and sale of spirituous liquors in the Indian
country, shall be in full force and effect throughout the
territory hereby ceded, and lying in Minnesota, until other-
wise directed by Congress or the President of the United
States.

" ARTICLE VI. Rules and regulations to protect the
rights of persons and property among the Indians, parties
to this treaty, and adapted to their condition and wants,
may be prescribed and enforced in such manner as the
President or the Congress of the United States from time
to time shall direct."

The Senate, June 23rd, 1852, amended the said treaty by
striking out all of article third and adding the following,
which was afterwards consented to by the Sioux :

" 1st. The United States do hereby stipulate to pay the
Sioux bands of Indians, parties to this treaty, at the rates
of ten cents per acre for the lands included in the reserva-
tion provided for in the third article of the treaty as
originally agreed upon.

" 2nd. It is further stipulated, that the President be
authorized, with the assent of the said bands of Indians,
parties to this treaty, and as soon after they shall have given
their assent to the foregoing article as may be convenient,
to cause to be set apart, by appropriate landmarks and
boundaries, such tracts of country, without the limits of the
cession made by the first [2nd] article of the treaty, as may
be satisfactory, for their future oc'cupancy and home :
15*

234 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Provided, that the President 'may, by the consent of these
Indians, vary the conditions aforesaid, if deemed expe-
dient."

The second treaty purports to have been signed August
5th, 1851, at Mendota, at the mouth of Minnesota river,
and was made between the United States and Med-ay-wa-
Jcan-toan and Wah-pay-koo-tay bands of the Dakota, or
Sioux, by which those bands ceded to the United States all
their interest in the lands in Minnesota or Iowa, and in con-
sideration of such cession those bands were made tenants
in common of a reservation along the Minnesota river, ten
miles wide on each side, and the United States agreed to
pay them $1,410,000. The further pi-ovisions of the treaty
were substantially the same as were contained in the treaty
with See-see-toan and Wah-pay-toan bands, of the 23rd of
July of the same year. The treaty was amended by the
Senate substantially as the other, and the amendment
ratified by the bands at St. Paul, September 4th, 1862.
Both treaties were ratified by the President's proclamation,
dated February 24th, 1853.

In 1858 the United States concluded a treaty with the
Yankton band of Sioux, by which that band ceded all their
lands, except a reservation of 400,000 acres, extending thirty
miles along the east bank of the Missouri river, above the
Chouteau river, for which the United States engaged to pay
annuities amounting to $1,600,000. The treaty contained
the usual provisions for schools and agricultural improve-
ments. It was ratified by the Senate, and published by the
President's proclamation, dated February 26th, 1859.

The Sioux bands being unwilling to leave their reserva-
tion under the treaty of August 5th, 1851, as required by
the amendment of the Senate in striking out article third, a
new treaty was made with them at Washington, June 19th,
1858, with the following provisions:

"AKTICLE I. It is hereby agreed and stipulated that, as
soon as practicable after the ratification of this agreement,

DAKOTA, OB SIOUX CONFEDEBACY. 235

so much of that part of the reservation or tract of land now
held and possessed by the Mendawakanton and Wahpakoota
bands of the Dakota or Sioux Indians, and which is de-
scribed in the third article of the treaty made with them on
the 5th day of August, 1851, which lies south or south-
westwardly of the Minnesota river, shall constitute a reser-
vation for said bands, and shall be surveyed, and eighty
acres thereof, as near as may be in conformity with the
public surveys, be allotted in severalty to each head of a
family, or single person over the age of twenty-one years,
in said bauds of Indians, said allotments to be so made a6
to include a proper proportion of timbered land, if the same
be practicable, in each of said allotments. The residue of
said part of said reservation not so allotted shall be held by
said bands in common, and as other Indian lands are held :
Provided, however, that eighty acres thereof, as near as
may be, shall, in like manner as above provided for, be
allotted to each of the minors of said bands on his or her
attaining their majority, or on becoming heads of families
by contracting marriage, if neither of the parties shall have
previously received land.

"All the necessary expenses of the surveys and allotments
thus provided for, shall be defrayed out of the funds of said
bands of Indians in the hands of the government of the
United States.

"As the members of said bands become capable of man-
aging their business and affairs, the President of the United
States may, at his discretion, cause patents to be issued to
them, for the tracts of land allotted to them respectively, in
conformity with this article ; said tracts to be exempt from
levy, taxation, sale or forfeiture, until otherwise provided for
by the legislature of the State in which they are situated
with the assent of Congress ; nor shall they be sold or alien-
ated in fee, or be in any other manner disposed of except
to the United States, or to members of said bands.

"ABTICLE II. Whereas by the treaty with the Mendawa-

236 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

f

kanton and Wahpakoota bands of Sioux Indians, concluded
at Mendota on the 5th day of August, 1851, said bands
retained for their ' future occupancy and home,' ' to be held
by them as Indian lands are held, a tract of country of the
average width of ten miles on either side of the Minnesota
river,' extending from Little Rock river to the Tchatamba
and Yellow Medicine rivers, which land was to ' be held by
said bands in common.'

"And whereas the Senate of the United States so amended
said treaty as to strike therefrom the provision setting apart
said land as a home for said bands, and made provision for
the payment to said bands ' at the rate of ten cents per acre
for the lands included in the ' said tract so reserved and set
apart for the ' occupancy and home ' of said bands, and also
provided in addition thereto, that there should be ' set apart,
by appropriate landmarks and boundaries, such tracts of
country without the limits of the cession made by the first
article of the ' said treaty, as should ' be satisfactory for
their future occupancy and home,' said Senate amendment
providing also ' that the President may, with the consent of
these Indians, vary the conditions aforesaid, if deemed
expedient ; ' all of which provisions in said amendment
were assented to by said Indians.

"And wrhereas the President so far varied the conditions
of said Senate amendment as to permit said bands to locate
for the time being upon the tract originally reserved by said
bands for a home, and no ' tracts of country without the
limits of the cession ' made in the said treaty has [have]
ever been provided for, or offered to, said bands :

"And whereas by the ' act making appropriations for the
current and contingent expenses of the Indian department,
and for fulfilling treaty stipulations with various Indian
tribes,' approved July 31, 1854, the President was author-
ized to confirm to the Sioux of Minnesota forever, the
reserve on the Minnesota river now occupied by them, upon
such conditions as he may deem just :

DAKOTA, OR SIOUX CONFEDERACY. 237

"And whereas, although the President has not directly
confirmed said reserve to said Indians, they claim that as
they were entitled to receive ' such tracts of country ' as
should ' be satisfactory for their future occupancy and
home,' and as no such country has been provided for, or
offered to, said bands, it is agreed and stipulated that the
question shall be submitted to the Senate for decision
whether they have such title ; and if they have, what com-
pensation shall be made to them for that part of said reser-
vation or tract of land lying on the north side of the Min-
nesota river — whether they shall be allowed a specific sum
of money therefor, and if so, how much ; or whether the
same shall be sold for their benefit, they to receive the
proceeds of such sale, deducting the necessary expenses
incident thereto. Such sale, if decided in favor of by the
Senate, shall be made under and according to regulations
to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, and in
such manner as will secure to them the largest sum it may
be practicable to obtain for said land.

"ARTICLE III. It is also agreed that if the Senate shall
authorize the land designated in article two of this agree-
ment to be sold for the benefit of the said Mendawakanton
and Wahpakoota bands, or shall prescribe an amount to be
paid said bands for their interest in said tract, provision
shall be made by which the chiefs and head men of said
bands may, in their discretion, in open council, authorize to
be paid out of the proceeds of said tract, such sum or sums
as may be found necessary and proper, not exceeding
seventy thousand dollars, to satisfy their just debts and
obligations, and to provide goods to be taken by said chiefs
and head men to the said bands upon their return : Pro-
vided, however, That their said determinations shall be
approved by the superintendent of Indian affairs for the
northern superintendency for the time being, and the said
payments be authorized by the Secretary of the Interior.

"ARTICLE IV. The lands retained and to be held by the

238 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

members of the Mendawakantoii and Wahpakoota bands
of the Dakota or Sioux Indians, under and by virtue of the
first article of this agreement, shall, to all intents and
purposes whatever, be deemed and held to be an Indian
reservation ; and the laws which have been, or may here-
after be enacted by Congress, to regulate trade and inter-
course with the Indian tribes, shall have full force and effect
over and within the limits of the same ; and no person
other than the members of the said bands, to be ascertained
and defined under such regulations as the Secretary of the
Interior shall prescribe, unless such as may be duly licensed
to trade with said bands, or employed for their benefit, or
members of the family of such persons, shah1 be permitted
to reside or make any settlement upon any part of said
reservation ; and the timbered land allotted to individuals,
and also that reserved for subsequent distribution as pro-
vided in the first article of this agreement, shall be free
from ah1 trespass, use, or occupation, except as hereinafter
provided.

"ARTICLE V. The United States shah1 have the right to
establish and maintain upon said reservation such military
posts, agencies, schools, mills, shops, roads, and agricultural
or mechanical improvements, as may be deemed necessary,
but no greater quantity of land or timber shall be taken
and used for said purposes than shall be actually requisite
therefor. And if in the establishment or maintenance of
such posts, agencies, roads or other improvements, the
timber or other property of any individual Indian shall be
taken, injured, or destroyed, just and adequate compensa-
tion shah1 be made therefor by the United Stales. Roads or
highways authorized by competent authority other than the
United States, the lines of which shall lie through said
reservation, shall have the right of way through the same,
upon the fair and just value of such right being paid to the
said Mendawakanton and Wahpakoota bands by the party
or parties authorizing or interested in the same, to be

DAKOTA, OB SIOUX CONFEDERACY. 239

assessed and determined in such manner as the Secretary
of the Interior shall direct.

"ARTICLE VI. The Mendawakanton and Wahpakoota
ba-nds of Dakota or Sioux Indians acknowledge their de-
pendence on the government of the United States, and do
hereby pledge and bind themselves to preserve friendly
relations with the citizens thereof, and to commit no injuries
or depredations on their persons or property, nor on those
of the members of any other tribe ; but in case of any such
injury or depredation, full compensation shall, as far as
practicable, be made therefor out of their moneys in the
hands of the United States ; the amount in ah1 cases to be
determined by the Secretary of the Interior. They further
pledge themselves not to engage in hostilities with the
Indians of any other tribe unless in self-defense, but to
submit, through their agent, all matters of dispute and diffi-
culty between themselves and other Indians, for the decision
of the President of the United States, and to acquiesce in
and abide thereby. They also agree to deliver to the proper
officers all persons belonging to their said bands who may
become offenders against the treaties, laws, or regulations
of the United States, or the laws of the State of Minnesota,
and to assist in discovering, pursuing, and capturing all
such offenders whenever required so to do by such officers,
through the agent or other proper officer of the Indian
department.

"ARTICLE VII. To aid in preventing the evils of intem-
perance, it is hereby stipulated that if any of the members
of the said Mendawakanton and Wahpakoota bands of
Sioux Indians shall drink, or procure for others, intoxicating
liquors, their proportion of the annuities of said bands shall,
at the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, be with-
held from them for the period of at least one year ; and for
a violation of any of the stipulations of this agreement on
the part of any members of said bands, the persons so
offending shall be liable to have their annuities withheld,

240 UPPEB MISSISSIPPI.

and to be subject to such other punishment as the Secretary
of the Interior may prescribe.

"ARTICLE VIII. Such of the stipulations of former treaties
as provided for the payment of particular sums of money to
the said Mendawakanton and Wahpakoota bands, or for the
application or expenditure of specific amounts for particular
objects or purposes, shall be, and hereby are, so amended
and changed as to invest the Secretary of the Interior with
discretionary power in regai'd to the manner and objects of
the annual expenditure of all such sums or amounts which
have accrued and are now due to said bands, together with
the amount the said bands shall become annually entitled
to under and by virtue of the provisions of this agreement :
Provided, The said sums or amounts shall be expended for
the benefit of said bands at such time or times, and in such
manner as the said Secretary shall deem best calculated to
promote their interests, welfare, and advance in civilization.
And it is further agreed, that such change may be made in
the stipulations of former treaties which provide for the
payment of particular sums for specified purposes, as to
permit the chiefs and braves of said bands, or any of the
subdivisions of said bands, with the sanction of the Secre-
tary of the Interior, to authorize such payment or expendi-
tures of their annuities, or any portion thereof, which are to
become due hereafter, as may be deemed best for the gen-
eral interests and welfare of the said bands or subdivisions
thereof."

The same difficulty existing with the Sisseton and Wah-
paton bands of the Sioux, under their treaty of July 23rd,
1851, a new treaty was also made with them, of the date of
June 19th, 1858, containing nearly the same provisions as
the treaty with the other bands.

Both of the foregoing treaties were ratified, without
amendment, by the President, March 31st, 1859.

The treaty of 1858, providing for the survey and allotment
of eighty acres in severalty to each head of a family, and to

DAKOTA, OE SIOUX CONFEDERACY. 241

each person under twenty-one years of age, placet the
Sioux bands in position for civilization, and the energies of
government were pointed in that direction. An attempt
had been made soon after the treaty of 1837 to induce the
Sioux to learn agriculture, by appointing farmers amongst
them ; but it \v as thoroughly demonstrated that an Indian
would not become a farmer until he could be protected in
the enjoyment of the fruits of his labor.

In 1835 attempts were successfully made to introduce
Christianity among the Sioux, and from that time civiliza-
tion began to attract their attention. In 1856 the " Hazel-
wood Republic" was formed, by the association of a few of
the Sissetons and Wah-pay-tons most advanced in civiliza-
tion, who desired to throw off their tribal relations. They
elected a president and council, and a part of them put on
the white man's dress. In the fall of 1857 twelve families
of the Menda-wah-kan-tons and Wah-pah-koo-tah bands
formed a similar association, and bound themselves to wear
the white man's dress, and refrain from the use of spirituous
liquors. During the year ending September 30th, 1858,
some forty-five houses were built for individuals of the two
latter bands, and from two to five acres ploughed about each
house. Among the Sisseton and Wah-pay-ton bands nine
houses were put up, mainly by the Indians, and some fields
cultivated. The machinery of three steam saw-mills was
sent for, and special efforts made for future improvement.
The Hon. Joseph R. Brown had been appointed Indian
agent for the Sioux, and being a man of judgment and
ability, and long connected with those Indians as a trader,
he well understood their necessities, and set himself vigor-
ously at work to improve their condition.

Previous to the treaty of 1858, nearly a million of money
had been expended by the government for the civilization
of these Indians ; but in despair the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs stated in his official report of November, 1857,
that " they have been indolent, extravagant, and intem-
16

242 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

perate, and have wasted their means without improving, or
seeming to desire to improve their condition."

The inducements held out to the Indians for going to
farming, under the treaty of 1858, was to give each Indian
eighty acres of land, a yoke of oxen, one wagon, farming
utensils and seed, and help him build a good, comfortable
house, and break and fence a portion of the land. The
evidence required of the Indians as a pledge on their part
that they would continue as farmers, was that they should
submit to have their hair cut in American style, and thereby
lose their " scalp lock," and that they should put "on the
American dress.

In 1859, the agent reported that over two hundred, princi-
pally heads of families, including some chiefs, who had been
" shorn of the scalp lock," had presented themselves as
candidates for farmers, and were contemptuously called by
their brethren the " white Indians." Thus these favorable
omens of civilization were accompanied by sneers and the
contemptuous treatment of other portions of the tribe, which
at times extended to open violence. Much of this opposi-
tion was generated by the " medicine men," or pagan priests,
who correctly imagined that the complete success of this
movement would destroy their occupation and influence;
hence they were assiduous in stirring up opposition. To
defend the farmer Indians, the agent was obliged to call for
military assistance from the United States troops.

During 1859, government furnished seeds and agricul-
tural implements to the value of $2,450, and oxen, wagons,
and plows to the value of $17,000, and plowed 1,816 acres
of land. The machinery for three saw-mills, two shingle
and two lath mills, were put in operation, and a consider-
able amount of lumber manufactured.

The educational department was not neglected, and two
buildings for superintendent of schools, and two for manual
labor schools, and some other school-houses were erected,

DAKOTA, OB SIOUX CONFEDERACY. 243

at the aggregate expense of $2,985, and several schools put
in operation.

Captain Gibson, of the second artillery, who attended at
the payments to the Sioux in June, 1860, in his Official dis-
patch, speaking of the Indian improvements, said : " The
agent began this movement in 1858 with sixteen Indians,
who were persuaded by Superintendent Cullen to be shorn
of their ' scalp locks,' and put on the white man's dress.
. . . The next year, two of the most noted chiefs,
Wabashaw and Wakute, with more than a hundred others,
submitted to the same ordeal. . . . Without the aid
and sj^eld of government, the farming Indian could not
continue his work one moment ; without that assurance,
not one would dare to throw off the blanket ; protection is
the salvation of this work. . . . For want of protection,
the ' Hazelwood Republic,' that commenced auspiciously,
has already been broken up by the hostilities, the unchecked
and still unpunished depredations and murders committed
by the neighboring bands."

But in the midst of their prosperity came also adver-
sity, and the demon of 1861 hurled his arrows of sorrow
at the poor Sioux. Consequent upon the change of
President was the change of officers connected with the
civilization of the tribe, and the poor Sioux, who had so
patiently toiled under the direction of the genial face of
Hon. J. R. Brown, were obliged to look upon the strange
face of a new agent. The troops which had protected them
were withdrawn, to go to the defence of Washington, and
the vague rumors of the great rebellion crept slowly into
the suspicious mind of the untutored savage.

The new agent of schools found " scarcely a building
on the reservation adapted for any kind of school use," and
that, " if schools are kept, additions must be made to the
shells called school buildings ;" and further, that " not one
dollar has been received from any quarter applicable to
school purposes since my appointment, the first of June last,

244 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

consequently but little has been done upon which to report."
He even " discontinued the manual labor school."

The general agent for the Sioux, October 1st, 1861,
reported that a military force was necessary, and further
remarked : " I will simply say that there is no available
force now for this purpose, and that if such force is not pro-
vided, the work of civilization must be greatly retarded, if
not abandoned." The $6,000 received by the agent to pay
the employees, was partly applied to settle their claims from
April 1st to June 30th, 1861, leaving a small balance to
apply on the future quarter.

Finally, October 5th, of the same year, the acting^ Com-
missioner of Indian Affairs called on the government for
" seven companies, of one hundred each, of troops, one of
which should be cavalry, as a guard for the frontier."
These difficulties, which alarmed the government, were said
by agent Thompson to have been caused by :

" 1st. The allowance, by the department at Washington,
last year, of a claim of $5,500, which was deducted from
their annuity.

" 2nd. The renewal of old questions by the Yanktons, in
which they claim that they were part owners of the lands
sold to the government by the treaty of 1851, by which the
Sissetons and Wahpaytons, bands of Sioux, should be allowed
to share in the annuities."

The Indians were temporarily pacified, however, at the
payment, September 16th, at " Yellow Medicine," by the
" presence of two companies of troops from Fort Ridgley,
and by liberal presents of beef cattle," and liberal promises.
The troops demanded by the commissioner of Indian affairs
were not furnished by government, the difficulties and rob-
beries accumulated, and the following year culminated in
the " Sioux massacre."

CHAPTER XII.

THE SIOUX MASSACEE.

THE Sioux massacre, coming so unexpectedly, like the
avalanche from the mountain, and having been so destruc-
tive in its brief course, shocked the whole Union with
horror ; and the professional letter- writers, really ignorant
of its origin, divided their invectives between the depravity
of the Indian and the depravity of Thomas J. Galbraith,
Esq., the Indian agent. A few, however, opponents of
civilization and Christianity, with supercilious smiles, asked
you to look at " the effects of twenty-seven years of mis-
sionary labor," and then turned on their heels with the most
profound contempt for all the missionary labors of the
world.

Through the country the reports of the cause of the
massacre might be divided about as follows : The whisky-
sellers charged it directly on the missionaries, with whom
they were in open hostility. The traders chai-ged it upon the
agent, for delaying the payments so that he could speculate
by exchanging the gold, which bore a large premium, for
greenbacks, the traders having expected to reap a great
harvest in getting the gold on their Indian debts, and
thereby securing the premium for themselves. The cunning
republican, who wanted to make a little capital for his party,
charged the massacre to the influence of " rebel sympa-
thizers ; " and those " sympathizers," in return, charged it
on the imbecility of the administration. The land specu-

246 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

lators, who imagined that they could see fortunes in the tidy
Indian houses and farms, charged the troubles to the total
depravity of the Indian character ; but some of the good
missionaries, more charitable to their immediate neighbors,
charged the whole aifair to his majesty the devil, who was
then engaged in one of his raids on mankind.

The people of Minnesota at large, believing that the most
of the charges were true, clamored for the unconditional
removal or extei-mination of the whole nation of Sioux, and
accompanied their clamor with such threats as satisfied the
government that they were in earnest ; hence the govern-
ment kept such Indians as had surrendered themselves
under a military guard until the spring of 1863, when the
most of them were sent and located high up the Missouri
river.

Agent Galbraith, to turn the attention of the public away
from himself, declared, in his report on the causes of the
massacre, that " ignorance, indolence, filth, lust, vice, big-
otry, superstition and crime, make up the ancient customs
of the Sioux Indians, and they adhere to the code with a
tenacity and stoicism indefinable." In speaking of the
" hereditary war " between the Sioux and Chippeways, the
agent ignored the fact, and declared that, " There is no war
or cause of war existing." " The feather is the cause of
those malicious murders committed on the Chippeways, and
to get ' the feather,' they would just as soon kill any body
else as a Chippeway."

It is too late in the nineteenth century to ignore that
"hereditary war," for it is a notorious fact in Indian
history, that that war has continued, with slight intervals,
from 1700 to the present time, and that during that one
hundred and sixty-seven years, the Sioux have been driven
from Lake Superior to west of the Mississippi, and that
among the numerous villages vacated to the victorious
Chippeways, was Mille Lac, where was the seat of the

THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 247

Dakota Confederacy in 1680, and where, by the Sioux
traditions, they were created.

It is equally in conflict with history that the Sioux are so
degraded and vicious, or such " inveterate cowards."
Three successive attacks on Fort Ridgley, under a shower
of shells from the cannon in the fort, besides a heavy fire of
musketry, the last attack lasting nearly five hours, ought of
itself to clear the Indians of the charge of cowardice ; and
their delivering up several hundred captives without ransom,
ought to be passed to the credit of their " total depravity."

The Sioux, like the other tribes of Indians, have their
peculiar manners and customs, with which the whites have
long since become familiar, among which are killing women
and children in war. Such being the Indian custom, we
have almost uniformly retaliated in kind, and it has long
since been understood, that an Indian war is extermination
on both sides. This system of extermination was practiced
in the King Philip's war by the people of Massachusetts, by
the Dutch of Manhattan, and the battle of Bad Ax showed
no change. Even in this Sioux war we have taken com-
paratively no prisoners, except such as the civilized Indians
voluntarily delivered up to General Sibley, thirty-three of
whom were tried, convicted, and hung, for aiding in the
war, and nearly two hundred and seventy more were lately
under the sentence of death, which the President refused to
carry into effect.

But agent Galbraith evidently comes nearer the merits of
the cause of the war, when he states in his report that the
Sioux " recited that, at the treaty, it was promised them
that each one of them should have one blanket at least
every year, and plenty of pork, flour and sugar to eat, and
that every hunter should have his gun, and all the ammu-
nition he wanted ; that white men would be hired to do all
their work, and that coffee, tea, tobacco, hatchets, and such
like, in large quantities, would be furnished them, and they
should have ' all they wanted ;' in addition to all of which

248 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

things, money to the amount of $40,000 to the upper, and
$46,000 to the lower bands, would be paid to them every
year, and that they should be taken care of and never suffer
from want any more." ..." With such statements
every speech teemed, whether made to the agent, superin-
tendent, or in their own councils."

The agent further remarked in -his report : "In addition
to the natural hostility of the wild Indians to the white men,
I soon discovered that evil-disposed white men, and half-
breeds in their interest, were engaged in keeping up this
hostility, and in fomenting discontent." ..." Although
my partiality to the white party was looked upon with great
jealousy, yet I kept on as best I could, from the commence-
ment until the outbreak, in aiding the work of civilization.
During my term, and up to the time of the outbreak, about
one hundred and seventy-five Indian men had their bail-
out, and had adopted the habits and customs of white men."
These, with the one hundred and twenty-five which had
been civilized under agent Brown, made three hundred
men, mostly heads of families. To see these three hundred
receive each a suit of clothes, oxen, wagon, grain, farming
utensils, house, and eighty acres of land of the value of
more than five hundred dollars, while the blanket Indians
could not get even their necessary subsistence, tended to
keep alive these jealousies, which were constantly fomented
by the whisky-sellers, who had been banished from the
tribe for the protection of this very civilization.

This experiment at civilization was a part of the system
which government had extended to most of the tribes that
had lived on the borders of civilization, and it was the duty
of government to protect it at all hazard against its enemies,
either white or copper-colored. It was based on philan-
thropy for the race, for it has become definitely settled that
the only other alternative is extermination, to which the
whisky-seller is most happily devoted.

Such being the condition of the tribe, and the almost posi-

THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 249

tive certainty of an outbreak on the first exciting cause, the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Washington, as early as
October 5th, 1861, called for seven companies of troops, of
one hundred to each company, for " a guard to the
frontier ;" but Secretary Stanton, of the war department,
neglected to furnish the guard, and when the outbreak
occurred, nearly a year after, even Fort Ridgley was
guarded by only eighty soldiers, while the whole frontier
beyond was destitute of a single soldier.

About the 25th of June, 1862, near the usual time of
making the Indian payments, several chiefs and head men
of the Sissetons and Wah-pay-tons visited the agency, and
inquired about the payments, and whether they were going
to get any money, alleging that they had been told that
they were not to be paid. Again, on the 13th of July, some
4,000 of the upper bands of the annuity Indians, with nearly
1,000 of the Yanktons, assembled at the agency. The
agent inquired what they came for, and they " answered that
they were afraid something was wrong ; they feared they
would not get their money, because white men had been
telling them so." As the money was due and daily
expected, the Indians were unwilling to return home, and
there was but a limited supply of provisions to feed them.
As day after day passed away, the Indians began to com-
plain of starvation ; and, finally, on the 4th of August, to
the number of nearly five hundred and fifty, they broke
open the warehouse, and carried off one hundred sacks of
flour.

This outbreak was compromised the next day, by giving
the Indians, at their request, their annuity goods, and a
supply of provisions, and on the 9th of August they left for
home.

During this time the Indians became informed of the
defeat of General McClellan on the peninsula, and the call
for 600,000 more troops by the President.

As soon as the Indians left, the war fever broke out
16*

250 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

among the employees of government and half-breeds at the
agency, and the Indian agent, Galbraith, left with a party
of these volunteers on the 13th day of August, for Red-
wood, where he enlisted some twenty more on the 14th.
On the 15th, he proceeded to Fort Ridgley, and from thence,
on the 16th, he changed his base to New Ulm ; and on the
fatal 18th, in the morning, the "Renville Rangers," fifty-
five strong, might have been seen, under Captain Galbraith,
filing out of New Ulm, and winding their serpentine course
towards St. Peter. War fevers are known to be contagious,
but the captain does not charge that it extended to the
" cowardly" Sioux, although he asserted that Little Crow
had repeatedly said to him : " When I arose this morning
and looked towards the south, it seemed to me that I could
see the smoke of the big guns, and hear the war-whoop of
the contending soldiers."

From ah1 the investigations made, no evidence was found
that this outbreak was stimulated by rebel agents or sympa-
thizers, nor that it was a preconcerted conspiracy ; but, on
the contrary, Little Crow himself had promised to have his
hair cut and civilize, and the government was engaged in
building his house, whilst he was contributing his personal
attention to its erection, and three days before he expressed
himself to the agent Satisfied with its progress.

The proximate cause of this outbreak may therefore be
summed up as originating :

1st. From the general dissatisfaction of the Indians over
the treaty and the efforts at civilization, in a great measure
generated by the whisky-sellers and traders.

2nd. The neglect of the Treasurer to make the payment
in the usual time.

3rd. The neglect of the Secretary of War to furnish the
guard for the frontier, as demanded by the Commissioner
of Indian Affairs.

4th. The war fever, and the belief of the Indians that the

THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 251

i

most of the men had left the country to go to the war, and
that they were abandoned by the agent without payment.

There were doubtless many other difficulties that affected
the bands to some extent; but, with less than these, the
Chippeways commenced an outbreak at nearly the same
time, which was happily put down by a military force, and
the presence of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, then on
their way to Red river.

There was, however, a more direct, exciting cause, which
ignited the tinder of their discontent, which occurred as
follows: On Sunday, August 17, 1862, at the village of
Acton, Meeker county, Minnesota, four of the Lower
Sioux, of Sha-Jca-pee's band, part of a hunting party of four-
teen, returning from an expedition against the Chippeways,
obtained whisky, became intoxicated, and killed six persons,
including a man named Jones, from whom it was alleged
they obtained the whisky. This party returned to their
village at Rice creek, called a council of their relatives, and,
according to agent Galbraith's report, discussed the matter
as follows: "We have killed white men, and tf caught,
must die. Let us unite now and kill the whiles at the
agency. It is a good time to carry out our original and
long-cherished designs. The whites are all gone to the war
except the old men and women and children. We can kill
them all, take their property, and repossess ourselves of the
land which we sold them, and occupy it." The agent fur-
ther, reports that "This harangue and others like it had the
desired effect. About twenty warriors at once united into
a war party, and started for Redwood creek, and towards
the agency. As they proceeded they were joined by the
warriors of the bands of Sha-ka-pee, Little Crow, Black
Dog, or Big Eagle, Blue Earth, and Passing Hail, all ripe
for the work proposed. These bands all had their villages
and plantings from four to ten miles above the lower
agency, and most of their young men and soldiers belonged
to the soldiers' lodge.

252 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

"By daylight on Monday, the 18th of August, this war
party, now increased to about two hundred soldiers, armed
and fierce for the fray, proceeded to the lower agency, hav-
ing sent messengers to the bands of Saopi, Wabasha,
Wakuta, Late-Comedu, and Husha-sha, who resided above
and below the agency, informing them of the purpose, and
asking and ordering them to join the war party forthwith,
on pain of being punished, even to death, in case of refusal.
As soon as the news of the uprising spread, the young men
of these bands rushed up to the agency, and excitedly joined
the war party, now being momentarily augmented in num-
bers, and stimulated with courage and resolution." . . .
" Many of the chiefs, old men and farmer Indians (generally
friendly to the whites), remonstrated and even protested,
but ah1 was in vain ; ' the die was cast ;' madness ruled the
hour. About six o'clock on this sad and eventful Monday
morning, the work of death and devastation began."

This was an attack at the lower agency, fifteen miles
above Fort Ridgley, on the trading house of Stewart B.
Garvie, known as " Myrick's." It spread to the other
stores, and soon reached the government stables, ware-
houses, shops and dwellings, which were plundered and
burned, the people fleeing in all directions, panic-stricken.
Some were shot down, some captured, and the balance fled
for their lives.

According to the report of the agent, Little Crow and his
associate chiefs, in the beginning intended to make regular
war, but they failed to control their young warriors, and it
soon turned into a massacre after the style of the eighteenth
century.

News of the outbreak reached the Sisseton and Wah-
pay-ton bands in the afternoon, and after a division in
council, one hundred and fifty of those bands resolved to
join the war party, and at two o'clock the next morning
attacked another store of Mr. Garvie, mortally wounding

THE SIOUX MASSACRE.

253

him, and seriously Mr. Patwell. The balance of the traders
of that locality fled and escaped.

OTHER-DAY.

At Yellow Medicine and Hazelwood missions, the mis-
sionaries and government employees, numbering twenty-
two men and forty women and children, left the agency at
early dawn of Tuesday morning, under the advice and
guidance of Ampe-tu-to-kecha, or Other Day, a full-blooded
Christian Indian chief, struck out into the open prairie, and
in four days reached Shakopee village, above St. Paul, on
the Minnesota river.

Rev. S. R. Riggs and Dr. T. S. Williamson, with teachers,
assistants, and others, numbering forty-five, of the old
Dakota mission, left Monday night, struck out into the
prairie, and reached the settlements on the 24th, guided by
Chaska and some other Christian Indians.

On Monday, at nine o'clock In the forenoon, news reached
Fort Ridgley of the outbreak at the agency at Redwood,
and Captain Marsh, with about fifty of his soldiers, left for
the agency, but were attacked at the ford near the agency,
and badly cut to pieces, with the loss of the captain and
twenty-three men killed ; fifteen, however, succeeded in
returning to the fort the same evening. At twelve o'clock,
noon, of Monday, the gold for the Indian payment reached
Fort Ridgley, having left New York by express August 11,
only seven days previous.

254 UPPEB MISSISSIPPI.

On Tuesday morning Captain Galbraith returned to the
fort with fifty of his " Renville Rangers," which had been
armed at St. Peter, and about the same hour Lieutenant
Sheehan, of company C, 5th regiment, reached the fort with
a force of fifty men. On Monday, about eleven in the fore-
noon, Indian parties commenced pillaging and murdering
about the country.

After sacking the lower agency, the Indians, on Tuesday,
the 19th, moved their camp to Little Crow's village, some
four miles above, as a base for further operations, while a
considerable force was dispatched to attack New Ulm, and
several foraging parties were sent out in other directions.

The attack on New Ulm commenced on Tuesday, at
three o'clock in the afternoon, but was successfully resisted
by the inhabitants, who were reinforced by Captain Flan-
dreau's cavalry at six o'clock in the afternoon, when the
Indians were charged and driven away with some loss.
This Indian force was estimated at over two hundred, but
from the small amount of damage done to the town, the
estimate was probably too high.

Failing in their attack on New Ulm, this force, with
probably some additions, left for Fort Ridgley, distant
eighteen miles, where they arrived at three o'clock in the
afternoon of Wednesday, and marching up to the gateways
and windows, fired a murderous voUey at the men and
women in the fort. According to the report of Lieutenant-
Governor Donnelly, of Minnesota, made at Fort Ridgley
the 29th of the same month :

" It was a surprise. The first announcement was a volley
fired through one of the openings or entrances into the
parade ground of the fort, doing at once deadly execution.
The men were rallied to their posts. Sergeant Jones,
ordnance sergeant, attempted to use his guns, but, to his
surprise, found they would not work. A howitzer was
brought into play, and in the mean time the sergeant drew
the charges from his pieces, and found that old rags had

THE SIOUX MAS8ACEE. 255

been stuffed into them. This was the critical moment.
Had the courage of the Indians been equal to the opportu-
nity, the fort would have fallen. The garrison was alarmed,
the women and children screamed with uncontrollable panic,
und the guns for a time disabled. But the moment passed,
never to return."

In reading the foregoing extract, we must bear in mind
that Fort Ridgley was a government fort, and contained
the remnant of Captain Marsh's company, fifty men under
Lieutenant Sheehan, Captain Galbraith and fifty " Renville
Rangers," $71,000 in gold for the Indian payment, and a
large number of women, children, and refugees from
the devastated country; and in open daylight, with the
heavens lurid with burning buildings, and while their " war
dogs" were stuffed with old rags, those " cowardly, sneak-
ing, vicious Indians," set on by the " devil," were allowed
to sneak up to the fort and fire a murderous volley at the
men, women and children in the inside ! No wonder that
the brave Captain Galbraith should hold such Indians in
such contempt, for firing on the " Renville Rangers !M

The report of the Lieutenant-Governor further says, " that
the Indians continued the fight for three and a quarter
hours, from the high grass and behind out-houses, logs, and
every other object that could afford them shelter." The
uneducated in Indian -warfare will hardly be able to com-
prehend why a fort in an Indian country should be sur-
rounded with such conveniences for " cowardly" Indians ;
but it is possible that the brave Captain Galbraith might
enlighten us on this subject. This battle, however, was not
very fatal to life, as there were only three killed and eight
wounded in the fort.

The following day, Thursday, the attack on the fort was
renewed at 9 o'clock, A. M., for half an hour, and at ten
minutes to 6 o'clock, P. M., it was again renewed for another
half hour.

On Friday, at ten minutes before 2 o'clock, P. M., a third

256 UPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

attack was made on the fort. This continued for nearly
five hours, and was " most determined, bitter, and persist-
ent, the guns sounding in one continuous rattle ;" and " at
one time a charging party was placed close to the fort,
and the half-breeds could hear the chiefs shouting to the
warriors to charge into the fort and seize the cannon ; but
without avail; their courage was not equal to the task."
In this attack one was killed, and a few slightly wounded
in the fort.

Failing in this final attack on the fort, the Indians, on
Saturday morning, moved again upon New Ulm, and again
attacked that place at half-past 11 o'clock, A. M. In a few
minutes the Indians had fifteen houses in flames, and carried
on their work of destruction with bravery until 5 o'clock,
P. M., when Captain Flandreau rallied his cavalry, and at
their head charged the Indians in the brushwood at the
lower end of the town, driving them out. This partially
relieved the town for the night. During the night, while
the Indians were having their war dances near by, the
forces in town contracted their line of defence, and burnt
the buildings outside of the line, so that they would not
nflbrd a shelter to the savages.

On Sunday morning the attack was renewed at long
range for an hour, the Indians not daring to charge across
the ground made vacant during the night, after which they
withdrew. During the siege ten men were killed and about
lifty wounded. The Indian loss was supposed to be nearly
1'orty. About noon a reinforcement of one hundred and
iifty, under Captain Cox, arrived from St. Peter, and the
following day New Ulm was evacuated without molestation.

After the repulse at New Ulm, Little Crow broke camp,
;ind changed his base to Yellow Medicine, distant twenty-
live miles above Little Crow's village, which took two days,
us the train of teams loaded with plunder, etc., was nearly
live miles long. At the head of this procession was unfurled

THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 257

an old British flag, while several American flags gave a
military aspect to this dusky line.

At Yellow Medicine some .time was spent in councils, and
dispatches were sent off to the western band of Sioux, and
to the British at the Selkirk settlement, notifying them that
the Sioux had declared war against the United States, and
asking them for their assistance. In these councils, "Little
Crow" urged that they should immediately remove to the
Selkirk settlement, and put themselves under the protection
of the British, but he was overruled by the other chiefs.
While encamped here, " Standing Buffalo," with two
hundred warriors of the upper Sissetons, came down, and
in council demanded of " Little Crow" the plunder taken at
Yellow Medicine agency, as belonging to his band; but
" Little Crow" refused, as he had done the fighting and was
entitled to the plunder. " Standing Buffalo" then refused
cooperation with " Little Crow," and returned home with
his warriors, with some threats against the belligerent
parties ; but it is claimed that some of his young warriors
afterwards took part with " Little Crow."

On the 28th of August, in the morning, Colonel Sibley
arrived at Fort Ridgley with a detachment of troops for the
relief of the fort, and to carry on offensive operations
against the Indians. Three days after, Colonel Sibley sent
out a detachment under Major Brown, consisting of one
company of infantry under Captain Grant, and a company
of cavalry under Captain Anderson, to reconoiter the country
above the fort, and bury the dead. On the second morn-
ing, at daybreak, at their camp in Birch Coolie, this detach-
ment were wakened from their slumbers by a deadly volley
from over three hundred Indians, distant only one hundred
and twenty-five yards. The horses and cattle were soon all
killed by the enemy, and became breast-works for our men ;
the men also dug holes in the ground for their protection.
Here they were held in siege until 11 o'clock the next
morning, when they were relieved by Colonel Sibley ; the
17

258 UPPEE MISSISSIPPI.

loss on our side was twenty-four killed and sixty-seven
wounded. The same day these troops were relieved,
" Little Crow" in person, with one hundred and fifty
warriors, made an attack on the town of Henderson, but
were repulsed. They succeeded, however, in carrying off
some plunder. About the same time a considerable force
attacked Fort Abercrombie, on Red river, but were repulsed.

Colonel Sibley, having succeeded in arming his new
troops, and in obtaining for them ten days' provisions, on
the 18th of September he ordered an advance, crossed the
river and pushed on for the Yellow Medicine agency, and
arrived at Wood Lake, near the agency, on the evening of
the 22nd. On the morning of the 23rd, the Indians in force
attacked Colonel Sibley in camp some time after sunrise.

The Indians occupied the high grass, and had disguised
themselves by tying tufts of grass around their heads and
waists. The battle thus progressed until nearly noon, when
the Indians, congregating in a ravine on our right, Colonel
Sibley ordered the 7th regiment Minnesota volunteers to
charge them. This charge was led by Lieutenant-Colonel
Marshall, and the Indians were routed and put to flight.
Unfortunately, however, Colonel Sibley had no sufficient
mounted force to pursue the fleeing savages. In this charge,
no prisoners were taken, and the wounded Indians were
bayoneted by the first soldier who reached them ; and their
repeated cry of " me good Indian," was only answered with
the bayonet and a curse.

The advance of Colonel Sibley had induced the Indians
to remove their camp twenty miles fui'ther up the Minnesota
river, above Yellow Medicine, where they were at the time
of this decisive battle.

The fugitive Indians made no further stand, but fled
immediately to their camp, and hastened the departure of
their families for the wilds of the upper Missouri river ;
while those opposed to the war, and some others, took the
prisoners, established for themselves a new camp, which

THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 259

they entrenched the same night, and sent a flag of truce to
Colonel Sibley, offering to surrender themselves and pris-
oners.

On the 26th, at noon, Colonel Sibley reached this friendly
camp, and marching partly round them, camped near the
river, taking possession of the Indian camp, and relieving
one hundred and fifty helpless women and children, who
were held as prisoners.

Lieutenant-Colonel Marshall was dispatched with two
hundred men in pursuit of " Little Crow,'' but only suc-
ceeded in capturing by surprise a small band at Wild-
Goose-Nest lake. " Little Crow " and his followers had
separated into small parties, in the region of the Coteau
Des Prairies, and Lieutenant-Colonel Marshall abandoned
the pursuit, returning about the '21st of October, to " Camp
Release," which name Colonel Sibley had applied to the
friendly Indian camp.

In the mean time, Colonel Sibley had caused a log house
to be erected in camp for a court house, and had organized
a military commission to try these Indians, who had
surrendered themselves, for murder. This commission,
composed of Colonel Crooks, Lieutenant-Colonel Marshall,
Captains Grant andBayley, and Lieutenant Olin, progressed
with their work until they convicted and sentenced to be
hung three hundred and three, and to imprisonment for life
eighteen, which were the greater part of all the male pris-
oners then secured. The finding of the commission was sent
to Washington for the approval of the President. The
Commissioner of Indian AiFairs remonstrated against the
execution of the sentence, and the President ratified the
finding on thirty-eight of the most guilty, who were
accordingly hung at Camp Lincoln, near Mankato, on the
26th day of December, 1862. Subsequently two others
were hung at Fort Snelling. The ill-fated Indians, with
characteristic decorum, ascended the platform singing their
death-song, and in one long line, holding each other by the

UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

hand, they were sent to their final hunting-grounds, the
Indian's elysium. The balance of the prisoners were kept
under a strong military guard, to protect them from the
repeated attempts of the mob to murder them ; and on the
opening of navigation the following spring, they were sent
to Davenport.

Th,e balance of the Sioux, being mostly women and chil-
dren, about fifteen hundred, were shipped by steamer in
May, 1863, to Crow creek, about one hundred miles above
Fort Randall, on the Missouri river, where they were depos-
ited, surrounded by a stockade fort, protected by a military
force, and fed and clothed by government. No annuities
have been paid the Sioux since the outbreak. Our losses
during the difficulties were estimated by the Indian agent
at 644 of men, women and children in the several massacres,
and ninety-three soldiers killed in the various battles. We
have no estimates of the losses of the Indians.

On the 29th of May, 1863, "Little Crow," and a party of
about eighty, visited the British at Fort Garry, on the Red
River of the north, and asked for assistance. Governor
Dallas only gave them some provisions, but positively
refused them ammunition. "Little Crow" complained
that they were badly treated in the war, for that, while he
yielded up the white prisoners, the whites had hung the
Indian prisoners ; and that they then had no alternative but
to either fight or be hung, unless they could make peace on
fair terms, which they much desired ; and asked the gov-
ernor to intercede for them.

But little was accomplished by the military forces in 1865,
towards subjugating the Sioux. General Sully made a cam-
paign from Fort Rice to Devil's Lake and Mouse river, and
returned to Fort Sully by way of Fort Berthol, without
meeting any considerable number of Indians. At the latter
fort he heard that the Indians, numbering about 10,000,
were encamped about fifty miles south-west, but with his
small force of about 900 he did not deem it prudent to

THE SIOUX MASSACKB. 261

attack them. General Sully, however, reported that bands,
numbering nearly 3,000 warriors, had made peace with him
in 1864 and 1865.

During the summer of 1865 there was a difference of
opinion between the War and Indian departments, as to the
question of peace with the Sioux ; but late in August they
agreed on a joint commission to visit the upper Missouri,
and conclude a peace, composed of Governor Edmonds, of
Dakota Territory, Major-General Curtis, Superintendent
Taylor, General Sibley, Rev. H. W. Reed, and Hon. Orrin
Guernsey.

This commission visited the Upper Missouri country, and
made treaties of peace with the following bands of the
Sioux; Two Kettles, or Teton, Lower Ernie", Oncpapas,
Minneconjous, Yanktonais, Sans Arcs, Upper Yanktonais,
Ogallallas, and Black Feet. These bands were estimated
at 16,020 souls. These treaties were ratified and proclaimed
at Washington, March 17, 1866, and provide for a right of
way through their country, and allow any of their people to
become agriculturalists. Treaties were also made with the
Assiniboins and Crows, securing the right of transit and
small cessions of land, including Fort Union.

The Peace Commissioners having recommended that the
Sioux of Crow creek be removed to a new reservation,
Superintendent Taylor selected six townships at the mouth
of the Niobrara river, in Nebraska, for the new reservation,
and in June, 1866, the Indians of Crow creek, and the
Davenport prisoners, were settled upon the new reservation ;
those prisoners having been pardoned by the President on
the recommendation of their missionary and the war
authorities.

A portion of the Christian Indians, who had rendered
special service to the whites at the massacre, and afterwards
acted as scouts to the troops, still occupied the old reserva-
tion in Minnesota ; " but," said the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, in April, 1866, " many of these men have, for the

262 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

past three years, been homeless wanderers, and actually
suffering from want ; a very poor return for services rendered
to the whites at the risk of their lives." ..." Action
was taken by the department about a year ago, to select for
them eighty acres of land each, upon the old reservation,
but' the feeling among the whites is such as to make it im-
possible for them to live there in safety."

These Sioux numbered in 1866, according to their mis-
sionary, two hundred and fifty, and contained, among others
of like merit : An-pe-tu-to-ke-cha, or " Other Day," who
" guided sixty-two missionaries and employees of Yellow
Medicine and Hazelwood to Shakopee village, near St.
Paul ;" Taopi, or " Wounded Man," a chief who was " the
leader in the rescue of two hundred and fifty prisoners ;"
Paul-maza-ker-ta-mane, who " openly denounced in council
the hostile Indians, and at all times, at the risk of his life,
declared his fidelity to" the whites ; To-wante-toma, called
Lorenzo Lawrence, who " at the risk of his life rescued ten
white captives, and brought thern to Fort Ridgley ;" Simon
An-ang-mani, who rescued four captives and brought them
to Fort Ridgley ; Wah-kin-yan-wash-to, or " Good
Thunder," who assisted " Taopi," and " was threatened
with death by ' Little Crow ;' " Zoe Ha-pa, a squaw, who
" at great risk brought provisions to the island where Rev.
Mr. Riggs and party were secreted."

There were other inconsistencies among some of the
people in Minnesota. New Ulm, a village where the mas-
sacre fell heaviest, was settled by German infidels, who, by
the papers of the day, were reported as having burnt Jesus
Christ in effigy, only a few days before the massacre.
When the 25th regiment Wisconsin volunteers were
stationed in the village for their protection, the chaplain
asked for the use of the town hall, in which to have Sabbath
religious services, there being no church, and was denied ;
whereupon, Colonel Montgomery marched his regiment into
the hall, and Rev. T. C. Golden, the Methodist chaplain,

THE SIOUX MASSACRE. 263

preached the first Christian sermon in the village. Some
of the religious writers of the day placed New Uhn in that
class of villages which was headed by Sodom, and raised
the question whether New Ulm was not punished for her
unrighteousness.

In the spring of 1866, the Minnesota Sioux petitioned the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs for leave to settle on the
new reservation at Niobrara, which was granted; but as
government could not arrange for their removal in time to
put in a crop, their removal had not taken place in October.

Another party of Minnesota Sioux, who fled with "Little
Crow," consisting of about eight hundred and fifty, have
surrendered to General Sibley, protesting that they took no
part in the massacre ; and the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs has recommended that they be located on a reserva-
tion near Fort Wardsworth, on the Missouri river. The
treaty commissioners, however, failed to make any satis-
factory treaty with them up to September, 1866, and they
still remained in the region of Fort Wardsworth.

During all the trials incident to this unfortunate Indian
war, the powers of the missionaries were brought in requi-
sition to ease the misfortunes of the prisoners and persecuted
friendly Sioux; and during 1866, Rev. Mr. Hinman and
Bishop Whipple attended to the interest of those in Minne-
sota, Rev. John P. Williamson, at Crow creek and
Niobrara, while Rev. Mr. Riggs had attended on the
prisoners at Davenport the most of the time during their
confinement.

The Yankton band, during the war, gave no aid or com-
fort to their brothers in arms, and in 1866 cultivated over
1,000 acres of corn, on their reservation on the Missouri
river. According to the agent's report, October 1st, 1866,
they were " peaceable, contented, and to a limited degree
industrious." There are neither schools or missionaries
among the Yanktons, or any other of the ten bands of
Sioux in Dakota territory.

264 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Those of the Minnesota Sioux who continued hostile to
government in 1866, are reported to be in the region of
Fort Garry, in the British possessions.

In the spring of 1867, General Sherman organized a strong
military force against the hostile Indians, and the war, it is
hoped, will close with a satisfactory peace during the
summer.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE OJLBWA CONFEDERACY.

THIS tribe call themselves Ojibwa, or Leapers, contracting
the name from people at the leaping water, or falls ; hence
the French called them Saulteurs, and the Sioux, Hah-hah-
ton-wah. The English traders corrupted the word to Chip-
pew ays, which is the modern pronunciation in the north-
west. This was originally a small band of Algonquins,
found at the falls at the outlet of Lake Superior in 1641, by
the Jesuit missionaries.

When the brave Iroquois had swept the confederate
nations from Lake Huron, and with 3,000 warriors had
stormed the fortified heights of Mackinaw island, the fugi-
tive nations divided, and part fled to Green Bay, while the
balance took shelter in the thick pines of the south shore of; /
Lake Superior. The latter were pursued, and, according
to Chlppe way tradition, another battle was fought atJVacfo-
wegoning, or place of Iroquois bones, now believed to be,
Whitefish Point, at which the Chippeways claimed a com
plete victory. This was probably about 1652, as the follow
ing year the Iroquois were known to be fully engaged in a
new war with the Eries near Buifalo, New York.

But this victory is very doubtful, as the confederate
nations continued their flight, and in 1660 a small part ofh
them were found at Kewenaw bay ; and the greater part at •
the west end of Lake Superior, in 1665, where they remained
until they were driven out by the Sioux in the spring of
17*

266 UPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

1671, and after the peace made by the French with the
Iroquois in 1666.

About this time the Christinaux, or Kilistinons, an
Algonquin nation inhabiting the country between Lake
Superior and Hudson's bay, having obtained arms of the
English traders at the latter bay, according to French
authority, attacked the Sioux on the north, and thereby
became allies with the Chippeways, in a war against the
•Sioux. This war continued until 1679, when Captain De
Lut visited the head of Lake Superior, took possession of
the country in the name of the King of France, and made
peace between the northern nations and the Assiniboins, the
great northern band of the Sioux, without consulting the
bands of the Sioux Confederacy.

This gave offence to the southern bands, but as they were
engaged in the war with the Sacs and Foxes, and other
tribes of fugitive Algonquin nations of southern Wisconsin
and Illinois, they did not appear to have specially continued
the war at the north at that time ; but subsequently, some of
the southern Sioux visiting the northern band of Assiniboins,
found among them some of the Kilistinons, and killed them
as enemies. This caused a renewal of the war in 1700, in
which the Assiniboins joined the northern nations against
their own confederacy, the Chippeways uniting with the
Kilistinons.

r— -T-he brave Dakotas of the south, as skillful in diplomacy
as in war, negotiated a peace with the Sacs, Foxes, Winne-
bagoes, and other nations of the Wisconsin and Fox rivers,
and in 1702 engaged them to take up arms against the
"northern alliance. This new combination greatly disgusted
the French, as they were using every art in their power to
array all the northern nations against the English colonies.
They scolded and threatened the Foxes, as the principal
offenders, and in 1712 entrapped and massacred a hunting
party of nearly 1,000 men, women and children, of the
Foxes and Mascoteus at Detroit. This war continued for

THE OJIBWA CONFEDERACY. 267

fifty-two years, the French giving their influence for the
northern alliance, and twice sending armies from Canada
against the Foxes and other nations in southern Wisconsin.
Finally, the necessities of the French increasing by the por-
tentous struggle of 1755, they succeeded the previous year
in drawing off the Sacs, Foxes, Winnebagoes, and other
southern Wisconsin Indians from their Sioux alliance, and
engaged them in the great war against the English. The
Sioux, however, could never be coaxed into this latter war.

After the fall of Canada, the Sacs and Foxes renewed
their war against the Illinois, who had long been allies of
the French against them, and extended their conquests into
the present State of Iowa ; while the Chippeways of the
north renewed their war against the Dakotas, which has
continued at intervals until the present time. Thus the
insignificant band of Ojibwas, by the aid of the French and
their continued alliances with the Algonquins, or as called by
the Iroquois, the Adirondacks, or bark-eaters, have become
the mighty confederacy of Chippeways, and have conquered
the Dakotas all northern Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Various treaties were made with the Chippeways and
Ottawas of Michigan, ceding lands to the United States, in
the States of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan ; but the first
treaty of any importance reaching to Lake Superior, was
that of the 28th of March, 1836. By this treaty, those tribes
ceded all the country from Grand river, Michigan, north to
Lake Huron and Lake Superior, and west to the Chocolate
river of Lake Superior, and Skonawba river of Green Bay,
making, however, several large reservations.

The next important treaty with the Chippeways, was that
of July 29, 1837, by which they ceded a large tract of land
in the then territory of Wisconsin, described in the treaty
as follows :

" Beginning at the junction of the Crow Wing and Mis-
sissippi rivers, between twenty and thirty miles above where
the Mississippi is crossed by the forty-sixth parallel of north

268 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

latitude, and running thence to the north point of Lake St.
Croix, one of the sources of the St. Croix river ; thence to
and along the dividing ridge between the waters of Lake
Superior and those of the Mississippi, to the sources of the
Ocha-sau-sepe, a tributary of the Chippewa river ; thence
to a point on the Chippewa river, twenty miles below the
outlet of Lake De Flambeau; thence to the junction of the
Wisconsin and Pelican rivers ; thence on an east course
twenty-five miles; thence southerly, on a course parallel
with that of the Wisconsin river, to the line dividing the
territories of the Chippeways and Menominies ; thence to
the Plover portage ; thence along the southern boundary of
the Chippewa country, to the commencement of the boun-
dary line dividing it from that of the Sioux, half a day's
march below the falls on the Chippewa river ; thence with
said boundary line to the mouth of Wah-tap river, at its
junction with the Mississippi ; and thence up the Mississippi
to the place of beginning."

In the second article of the treaty it was provided that,
" In consideration of the cession aforesaid, the United
States agree to make to the Chippeway nation, annually,
for the term of twenty years, from the date of the ratifica-
tion of this treaty, the following payments :

1. Nine thousand five hundred dollars, to be paid in
money.

2. Nineteen thousand dollars, to be delivered in goods.

3. Three thousand dollars for establishing three black-
smiths' shops, supporting the blacksmiths, and furnishing
them with iron and steel.

4. One thousand dollars for farmers, and for supplying
them and the Indians with implements of labor, with grain
or seed, and whatever else may be necessary to enable them
to carry on their agricultural pursuits.

5. Two thousand dollars in provisions.

6. Five hundred dollars in tobacco.

The third article of the treaty provided that " The sum

THE OJIBWA CONFEDERACY. 269

of one hundred thousand dollars shall be paid to the half-
breeds" by the United States; and the fourth article
required the additional sum of $70,000, to " be applied to
the payment by the United States, of certain claims against
the Indians " by the traders.

By the treaty of October 4, 1842, all the northern portion
of Wisconsin was ceded to the United States, by the fol-
lowing boundaries :

"Beginning at the mouth of Chocolate river of Lake
Superior; thence north-westwardly across said lake to inter-
sect the boundary line between the United States and the
province of Canada ; thence up said Lake Superior tb the
mouth of the St. Louis, or Fond Du Lac river (including all
the islands in said lake) ; thence up said river to the Ameri-
can Fur Company's trading-post, at the southwardly bend
thereof, about twenty-two miles from its mouth ; thence
south, to intersect the line of the treaty of 29th July, 1837,
with the Chippeways of the Mississippi ; thence along said
lake to its south-eastwardly extremity, near the Plover
portage on the Wisconsin river ; thence north-eastwardly,
along the boundary line between the Chippeways and Men-
ominies, to its eastern termination, on the Skanawba river
of Green Bay ; thence northwardly to the source of Choco-
late river ; thence down said river to its mouth, the place of
beginning."

By Article IV., of the same treaty, it was provided : " In
consideration of the foregoing cession, the United States
engage to pay to the Chippeway Indians of the Mississippi
and Lake Superior, annually, for twenty-five years, $12,500
in specie, $10,500 in goods, $2,000 in provisions and tobacco,
$2,000 for the support of two blacksmiths' shops (including
pay of smiths, asssistants, and iron, steel, etc.), $1,000 for
pay of two farmers, $1,200 for pay of two carpenters, and
$2,000 for the support of schools for the Indians parties to
this treaty ; and further, the United States engage to pay
the sum of $5,000 as an agricultural fund, to be expended

270 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

under the direction of the Secretary of War. And also the
sum of $75,000 shall be allowed for the full satisfaction of
their debts within the ceded district." Also, the United
States paid $15,000 for the half-breeds of the tribe.

The next treaty with the Chippeways was made at Fond
Du Lac, of Lake Superior, August 2, 1847, by which they
ceded the following tract :

" Beginning at the junction of the Crow Wing and
Mississippi rivers ; thence up the Crow Wing river to the
junction of that river with the Long Prairie river ; thence
up the Long Prairie river to the boundary line between the
Sioux and Chippeway Indians ; thence southerly along said
boundary line to a lake at the head of Long Prairie river ;
thence in a direct line to the sources of the Watab river ;
thence down the Watab to the Mississippi river ; thence up
the Mississippi to the place of beginning ; and also all the
interest and claim which the Indians, parties to this treaty,
have in a tract of land lying upon and north of Long
Prairie river, and called ' One-day's Hunt.' "

For this cession, the United States paid the chiefs of the
Lake Superior bands $17,000, and the same to the Missis-
sippi bands of Chippeways ; and agreed to pay to the latter
bands $1,000 annually for forty-six years.

The foregoing tract of country was purchased by the
United States with the view of locating thereon the Winne-
bagoes and Menominies, but these tribes disliking the tract,
subsequently exchanged for other lands.

The most of the Chippeways of Lake Superior being
unwilling to remove from the lands which they had ceded
by the treaty of 1842, a new treaty was made September 30,
1854, by which those bands ceded to the United States
certain additional lands, and received back the reservations
at the places of their residence, with other provisions as
follows :

"ARTICLE I. The Chippeways of Lake Superior hereby
cede to the United States all the lands heretofore owned by

THE OJIBWA CONFEDERACY. 2Vl

them in common with the Chippeways of the Mississippi,
lying east of the following boundary line, to wit : Begin-
ning at a point where the east branch of Snake river crosses
the southern boundary line of the Chippewa country, run-
ning thence up the said branch to its source ; thence nearly
north, in a straight line, to the mouth of East Savannah
river; thence up the St. Louis river to the mouth of East
Swan river ; thence up the East Swan river to its source ;
thence in a straight line to the most westerly bend of Ver-
million river ; and thence down the Vermillion river to its
mouth.

" The Chippeways of the Mississippi hereby assent and
agree to the foregoing cession, and consent that the whole
amount of the consideration money for the country ceded
above, shall be paid to the Chippeways of Lake Superior ;
and in consideration thereof, the Chippeways of Lake
Superior hereby relinquish to the Chippeways of the Mis-
"sissippi, all their interest in and claim to the lands hereto-
fore owned by them in common, tying west of the above
boundary line.

"ARTICLE II. The United States agree to set apart and
withhold from sale, for the use of the Chippeways of Lake
Superior, the following described tracts of land : namely,

" 1st. For the L'Anse and Vieux De Sert bands, all the
unsold lands in the following townships in the State of
Michigan : Township fifty-one north, range thirty-three
west ; township fifty -one, north, range thirty-two west ; the
east half of township fifty, north, range thirty-three west ;
the west half of township fifty, north, range thirty-two
west ; and all of township fifty-one, north, range thirty-one
west, lying west of Huron bay.

" 2nd. For the La Point band, and such other Indians as
may see fit to settle with them, a tract of land bounded as
follows : Beginning on the south shore of Lake Superior,
a few miles west of Montreal river, at the mouth of a creek
called by the Indians Ke-che-se-be-we-she, running thence

2 72 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

south to a line drawn east and west through the center of
township forty-seven north ; thence west to the west line of
said township ; thence south, to the south-east corner of
township forty-six, north, range thirty -two, west; thence
west the width of two townships ; thence north the width
of two townships ; thence west one mile ; thence north to
the lake shore ; thence along the lake shore, crossing Shag-
waw-me-quon point, to the place of beginning. Also, two
hundred acres on the northern extremity of Madeline island,
for a fishing ground.

" 3rd. For the other Wisconsin bands, a tract of land
lying about Lac De Flambeau, and another tract on Lac
Court Orielles, each equal in extent to three townships, the
boundaries of which shall be hereafter agreed upon, or fixed,
under the direction of the President.

"4th. For the Fond Du Lac bands, a tract of land
bounded as follows: Beginning at an island in the St.
Louis river, above Knife portage, called by the Indians*
Paw-paw-sco-me-me-tig ; running thence west to the boun-
dary line heretofore prescribed; thence north along said
boundary line to the mouth of Savannah river ; thence down
the St. Louis river to the place of beginning. And if the
said tract shall contain less than one hundred thousand
acres, a strip of land shall be added on the south thereof,
large enough to equal such deficiency.

"5th. For the Grand Portage band, a tract of land
bounded as follows : Beginning at a rock a little east of the
eastern extremity of Grand Portage bay; running thence
along the lake shore to the mouth of a small stream called
by the Indians Maw-ske-gwaw-caw-maw-se-be, or Cranberry
Marsh river; thenee up said stream, across the point to
Pigeon river ; thence down Pigeon river to a point opposite
the starting-point ; and thence across to the place of begin-
ning.

" 6th. The Ontonagon band, and that subdivision of the
La Point band of which ' Buffalo ' is chief, may each select

THE OJIBWA CONFEDERACY. 273

on or near the lake shore, four sections of land, under the
direction of the President, the boundaries of which shall be
defined hereafter. And being desirous to provide for some
of his connections who have rendered his people important
services, it is agreed that the chief, ' Buffalo,' may select one
section of land, at such place in the ceded territory as he
may see fit, which shall be reserved for that purpose, and
conveyed by the United States to such person or persons as
he may direct.

" 7th. Each head of a family, or single person over
twenty-one years of age at the present time, of the mixed
bloods, belonging to the Chippeways of Lake Superior,
shall be entitled to eighty acres of land, to be selected by
them, under the direction of the President, and which shall
be secured to them by patent in the usual form."

This treaty having been made with a view to the civiliza-
tion of the Indians on the foregoing reservations, the United
States further provided for defining the boundaries of said
reservations, and for surveying and distributing to each
person over twenty-one years of age, eighty acres of the
land in severalty ; and that missionaries, teachers, and other
persons residing with the Indians, might enter their lands
to the extent of one hundred and sixty acres each.

The Bois Forte Indians were given the right to select
their reservations in proportion to their numbers, to the
same extent as other bands.

Spirituous liquors were prohibited from manufacture, sale,
or use on the reservations.

The United States paid for said cession, in addition
to said resei-vations, annually for twenty years, $5,000 in
coin, $8,000 in goods, $3,000 in agricultural implements,
cattle, and building materials, and $3,000 for moral and
educational purposes. Also $90,000 to pay their debts, and
$6,000 for agricultural implements, household furniture, and
cooking utensils, to the half-breeds ; and furnished the
Indians 200 guns, 100 rifles, 500 beaver traps, $300 worth
18

274 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

of ammunition, and $1,000 "worth of ready-made clothing,
to be distributed among the young men of the nation, at the
next annuity payment."

The United States also, in lieu of previous engagements
of the kind, agreed to furnish a blacksmith and assistant,
with the usual amount of stock, during the continuance of
the annuities, for each of said reservations. In addition,
the United States agreed to pay the Bois Forte Indians
$10,000 to pay their debts, and $2,000 annually for five
years, in goods.

The treaty made February 22nd, 1855, at Washington,
between the United States and the Mississippi, Pillager, and
Lake Winnibigoshish bands of Chippeways, was probably
the most important of any, touching the civilization of these
bands, and we therefore copy the first three articles in full,
as follows :

"ARTICLE I. The Mississippi, Pillager, and Lake Winni-
bigoshish bands of Chippeway Indians hereby cede, sell,
and convey to the United States all their right, title, and
interest in, and to, the lands now owned and claimed by
them, in the Territory of Minnesota, and included within
the following boundaries, namely : beginning at a point
where the east branch of Snake river crosses the southern
boundary line of the Chippeway country, east of the Mis-
sissippi river, as established by the treaty of July 29th, 1837,
running thence, up the said branch, to its source ; thence,
nearly north in a straight line, to the mouth of East Savan-
nah river ; thence, up the St. Louis river, to the mouth of
East Swan river ; thence, up said river, to its source ; thence,
in a straight line, to the most westwardly bend of Vermil-
lion river ; thence, north-westwardly, in a straight line, to
the first and most considerable bend in the Big Fork river;
thence, down said river, to its mouth ; thence, down Rainy
Lake river, to the mouth of Black river; thence, up that
river, to its source ; thence, in a straight line, to the northern
extremity of Turtle lake ; thence, in a straight line, to the

THE OJIBWA CONFEDERACY. 275

mouth of Wild Rice river; thence, up Red river of the
north, to the mouth of Buifalo river ; thence, in a straight
line, to the south-western extremity of Otter Tail lake ;
thence, through said lake, to the source of Leaf river;
thence, down said river, to its junction with Crow Wing
river ; thence, down Crow Wing river, to its junction with
the Mississippi river ; thence, to the commencement on said
river of the southern boundary line of the Chippeway coun-
try, as established by the treaty of July 29th, 1837 ; and
thence, along said line, to the place of beginning. And the
said Indians do further fully and entirely relinquish and
convey to the United States, any and all right, title, and
interest, of whatsoever nature the same may be, which they
may now have in and to any other lands in the Territory
of Minnesota or elsewhere.

"ARTICLE II. There shall be, and hereby is, reserved and
set apart, a sufficient quantity of land for the permanent
homes of the said Indians ; the lands so reserved and set
apart to be in separate tracts, as follows, namely :

" For the Mississippi bands of Chippeway Indians : The
first to embrace the following fractional townships, namely :
forty-two north of range twenty-five west; forty-two north
of range twenty-six west; and forty-two and forty -three
north of range twenty-seven west; and, also, the three
islands in the southern part of Mille Lac. Second, begin-
ning at a point half a mile east of Rabbit lake ; thence,
south three miles ; thence, westwai'dly in a straight line, to
a point three miles south of the mouth of Rabbit river;
thence, north to the mouth of said river ; thence, up the
Mississippi river, to a point directly north of the place of
beginning ; thence, south to the place of beginning. Third,
beginning at a point half a mile south-west from the most
south-westwardly point of Gull lake ; thence, due south to
Crow Wing river ; thence, down said river, to the Missis-
sippi river ; thence, up said river, to Long Lake portage ;
thence, in a straight line, to the head of Gull lake ; thence,

276 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

in a south-westwardly direction, as nearly in a direct line as
practicable, but at no point thereof, at a less distance than
half a mile from said lake, to the place of beginning.
Fourth, the boundaries to be, as nearly as practicable, at
right angles, and so as to embrace within them Pokagomon
lake ; but no where to approach nearer said lake than half a
mile therefrom. Fifth, beginning at the mouth of Sandy
Lake river ; thence, south to a point on an east and west
line, two miles south of the most southern point of Sandy
lake ; thence, east to a point due south from the mouth of
Wes{ Savannah river; thence, north to the mouth of said
river ; thence, north to a point on an east and west line, one
mile north of the most northern point of Sandy lake ; thence,
west to Little Rice river ; thence, down said river to Sandy
Lake river ; and thence, down said river to the place of
beginning. Sixth, to include all the islands in Rice lake,
and also half a section of land on said lake, to include the
present gardens of the Indians. Seventh, one section of
land for Pug-o-na-ke-shick, or ' Hole in the Day,' to include
his house and farm ; and for which he shall receive a patent
in fee simple.

" For the Pillager and Lake Winnibigoshish bands, to be
in three tracts, to be located and bounded as follows,
namely : first, beginning at the mouth of Little Boy river ;
thence, up said river to Lake Hassler ; thence, through the
center of said lake, to its western extremity ; thence, in a
direct line, to the most southern point of Leech lake ; and
thence, through said lake, so as to include all the islands
therein, to the place of beginning. Second, beginning at
the point where the Mississippi river leaves Lake Winni-
bigoshish; thence, north to the head of the first river;
thence, west by the head of the next river, to the head of
the third river, emptying into said lake; thence, down
the latter to said lake; and thence, in a direct line to
the place of beginning. Third, beginning at the mouth of
Turtle river ; thence, up said river to the first lake ; thence,

THE OJIBWA CONFEDERACY. 277

east four miles ; thence, southwardly in a line parallel with
Turtle river, to Cass lake ; and thence, so as to include all
the islands in said lake, to the place of beginning; all of
which said tracts shall be distinctly designated on the plats
of the public surveys. And at such time or times, as the
President may deem it advisable for the interests and wel-
fare of said Indians, or any of them, he shall cause the said
reservations, or such portion or portions thereof, as may be
necessary, to be surveyed ; and assign to each head of a
family, or single person over twenty-one years of age, a
reasonable quantity of land, in one body, not to exceed
eighty acres in any case, for his or their separate use ; and
he may, at his discretion, as the occupants thereof, become
capable of managing their business and aifairs, issue patents
to them for the tracts so assigned to them respectively ; said
tracts to be exempt from taxation, levy, sale, or forfeiture ;
and not to be aliened or leased for a longer period than two
years, at one time, until otherwise provided by the legisla-
ture of the State in which they may be situate, with the
assent of Congress. They shall not be sold, or alienated, in
fee, for a period of five years after the date of the patents ;
and not then without the assent of the President of the
United States being first obtained. Prior to the issue of the
patents, the President shall make such rules and regulations
as he may deem necessary and expedient, respecting the
disposition of any of said tracts in case of the death of the
person or persons to whom they may be assigned, so that
the same shall be secured to the families of such deceased
persons ; and should any of the Indians to whom tracts may
be assigned, thereafter abandon them, the President may
make such rules and regulations, in relation to such aban-
doned tracts, as in his judgment may be necessary and
proper.

"ARTICLE III. In consideration of, and in full compensa-
tion for, the cessions made by the said Mississippi, Pillager,
and Lake Winnibigoshish bands of Chippeway Indians, in

278 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

the first article of this agreement, the United States hereby
agree and stipulate to pay, expend, and make provision for,
the said bands of Indians, as follows : namely, for the Mis-
sissippi bands,

"Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in goods, and other
useful articles, as soon as practicable after the ratification
of this instrument, and after an appropriation shall be made
by Congress therefor, to be turned over to the delegates and
chiefs for distribution among their people.

"Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) to enable them to
adjust and settle their present engagements, so far as the
same, on an examination thereof, maybe found and decided
to be valid and just by the chiefs, subject to the approval
of the Secretary of the Interior; and any balance remaining
of said sum, not required for the above-mentioned purpose,
shall be paid over to said Indians in the same manner as
their annuity money, and in such installments as the said
Secretary may determine; provided, that an amount not
exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) of the above sum
shall be paid to such full and mixed bloods as the chiefs
may direct, for services rendered heretofore to their bands.

" Twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) per annum, in money,
for twenty years, provided, that two thousand dollars
($2,000) per annum of that sum, shall be paid or expended,
as the chiefs may request, for purposes of utility connected
with the improvement and welfare of said Indians, subject
to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.

" Five thousand dollars ($5,000) for the construction of a
road from the mouth of Rum river to Mille Lac, to be
expended under the direction of the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs.

"A reasonable quantity of land, to be determined by the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, to be ploughed and pre-
pared for cultivation in suitable fields, at each of the
reservations of the said bands, not exceeding, in the aggre-
gate, three hundred acres for all the reservations, the

THE OJIBWA CONFEDEKACY. 279

Indians to make the rails and enclose the fields themselves.

"For the Pillager and Lake Winnibigoshish bands :

"Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in goods, and other
useful articles, as soon as practicable after the ratification
of this agreement, and an appropriation shall be made by
Congress therefor ; to be turned over to the chiefs and dele-
gates for distribution among their people.

"Forty thousand dollars ($40,000), to enable them to
adjust and settle their present engagements, so far as the
same, on an examination thereof, may be found and decided
to be valid and just by the chiefs, subject to the approval
of the Secretary of the Interior; and any balance remaining
of said sum, not required for that purpose, shall be paid
over to said Indians, in the same manner as their annuity
money, and in such installments as the said Secretary may
determine; provided that an amount, not exceeding ten
thousand dollars ($10,000), of the above sum, shall be paid
to such mixed bloods as the chiefs may direct, for services
heretofore rendered to their bands.

" Ten thousand six hundred and sixty-six dollars and
sixty-six cents ($10,666.66) per annum, in money, for thirty
years.

" Eight thousand dollars ($8,000) per annum, for thirty
years, in such goods as may be requested by the chiefs, and
as may be suitable for the Indians, according to their con-
dition and circumstances.

" Four thousand dollars ($4,000) per annum, for thirty
years, to be paid or expended, as the chiefs may request,
for purposes of utility connected with the improvement and
welfare of said Indians; subject to the approval of the
Secretary of the Interior. Provided, That an amount, not
exceeding two thousand dollars thereof, shall, for a limited
number of years, be expended under the direction of the
Commissioner of Indian Aifairs, for provisions, seeds and
such other articles or things as maybe useful in agricultural
pursuits.

280 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

" Such sura as can be usefully and beneficially applied by
the United States, annually, for twenty years, and not to
exceed three thousand dollars in any one year, for purposes
of education ; to be expended under the direction of the
Secretary of the Interior.

"Three hundred dollars' ($300) worth of powder, per
annum, for five years.

" One hundred dollars' ($100) worth of shot and lead,
per annum, for five years.

"One hundred dollars' ($100) worth of gilling twine, per
annum, for five years.

"One hundred dollars' ($100) worth of tobacco, per
annum, for five years.

" Hire of three laborers at Leech Lake, of two at Lake
"Winnibigoshish, and of one at Cass lake, for five years.

" Expense of two blacksmiths, with the necessary shop,
iron, steel and tools, for fifteen years.

" Two hundred dollars ($200) in grubbing hoes and tools,
the present year.

"Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) for opening a road
from Crow Wing to Leech Lake ; to be expended under the
direction of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

" To have ploughed and prepared for cultivation, two
hundred acres of land, in ten or more lots, within the reser-
vation at Leech lake ; fifty acres, in four or more lots,
Avithin the reservation at Lake Winnibigoshish ; and twenty-
five acres, in two or more lots, within the reservation at
Cass lake: Provided, That the Indians shall make the rails
sind enclose. the lots themselves.

"A saw-mill, with a portable grist-mill attached thereto,
to be established whenever the same shall be deemed neces-
sary and advisable by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
nt such point as he shall think best ; and which, together
with the expense of a proper person to take charge of and
operate them, shall be continued during ten years: Pro-

THE OJIBWA CONFEDERACY. 281

vided, That the cost of all the requisite repairs of the said
mills shall be paid by the Indians, out of their own funds."

The revolt of the Sioux, and the massacre of several
hundred whites by those savages, spread through the
country like an electric shock. " Hole-in-the-day," the head
chief of the Mississippi Chippeways, with a few of his
warriors, immediately commenced stealing and killing the
cattle about the Indian agency and Fort Blpley. Agent
Walker fled to the fort, and directed the arrest of " Hole-in-
the-day," but that chief retreated across the river with his
family, when pursued by troops, and then fired back upon
his pursuers, and shots were exchanged. Agent Walker
set out for St. Paul, but laboring under the excitement of
the occasion, he committed suicide on the way.

Commissioner Dole, of Washington, then at St. Paul, on
his way to Red river, obtained two companies of volunteers
from Governor Ramsey, and immediately set out for Fort
Ripley. He reached that point, and held several councils
with " Hole-in-the-day" and other chiefs of the bands, but with
no definite result. Mr. Dole, in the mean time, persuaded
the Mille Lac and some other bands to abandon " Hole-in-the-
day," and thereby diminished that chief's strength one half.
He then left for St. Paul. The Indians held a council, and
although many chiefs were for peace, they came to no
decision. Those favorable to peace went to the fort, sur-
rendered the stolen property, received rations, and left for
home. " Hole-in-the-day," having thus lost more than half
of his warriors, soon a'fter followed their example, restored
his plunder, and delivered his war-club as a token of peace.

In the mean time, the legislature of Minnesota appointed
commissioners to visit " Hole-in-the-day" and make a treaty.
Judge Cooper, the attorney of the chief, was placed at the
head of the commission. They concluded a treaty, but
government refused to ratify it, and the treaty of 1863 was
the consequence. The depredations of this outbreak were
not extensive, and were settled under the treaty last named.
18*

282 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

" Hole-in-the-day," with some forty of his principal chiefs
and warriors, visited St. Paul soon after, and offered the
whole force of his tribe to General Pope, to go against the
Sioux, but their services were refused. Had they been
accepted, they would have made valuable scouts against
their old enemy, and might have been the means of having
given success to the first expedition of General Sibley. It
was arming tribe against tribe that gave the first success to
the English arms in the Pontiac conspiracy ; and the ani-
mosity of two hundred years might well have spent itself
against the merciless Sioux.

By the treaty of March llth, 1863, with the Chippeways
of the Mississippi and the Pillager and Lake Winnibigoshish
bands of Chippeways, they relinquish their reservations at
Gull lake, Mille Lac, Sandy lake, Rabbit lake, Pokagomin
lake, and Rice lake, and agree to accept, " for the future
homes of the Chippeways of the Mississippi, all the lands
embraced within the following described boundaries, except
the reservations made and described in the third clause of
the second article of the said treaty of February 22nd, 1855,
for the Pillager and Lake Winnibigoshish bands ; that is to
say, beginning at a point one mile south of the most south-
erly point of Leech lake, and running thence in an easterly
course to a point one mile south of the most southerly point
of Goose lake ; thence due east to a point due south from
the intersection of the Pokagomin reservation and the Mis-
sissippi river ; thence on the dividing line between ' Deer
River lakes' and Mashkorden's river and lakes until a point
is reached north of the first named river and lakes ; thence
in a direct line north-westerly to the outlet of ' Two Routes
lake;' thence in a south-westerly direction to the north-
west corner of the Cass Lake reservation ; thence in a south-
westerly direction to Karbekaun river ; thence down said
river to the lake of the same name ; thence due south to a
point due west from the beginning; thence to the place of
beginning."

THE OJIBWA CONFEDERACY. 288

By article third it is further provided : " In considera-
tion of the foregoing cession to the United States, and the
valuable improvements thereon, the United States further
agree :

" 1st. To extend the present annuities of the Indians,
parties to this treaty, for ten years beyond the periods respec-
tively named in existing treaties.

" 2nd. And to pay towards the settlement of the claims
for depredations committed by said Indians in 1862, the
sum of $30,000.

" 3rd. To enable said Indians to pay their present just
engagements, the sum of $30,000, as the chiefs in council
may direct.

" 4th. To the chiefs of the Chippeways of the Mississippi,
$16,000, (provided they shall pay to the chiefs of the
Pillager and Lake Winnibigoshish bands, $1,000,) to be paid
upon the signing of this treaty, out of the arrearages due
under the ninth article of the treaty concluded at La Point,
in the State of Wisconsin, on the 30th of September, 1854.

" 5th. And to pay the expenses incurred by the legislature
of the State of Minnesota, in the month of September, 1862,
in sending commissioners to visit the Chippeway Indians,
amounting to $1,338.75."

By the fourth article of the same treaty, " the United States
further agree to clear, stump, grub, and break in the reser-
vation hereby set apart for the Chippeways of the Missis-
sippi, in lots of not less than ten acres each, at such point
or points as the chiefs of each band may select, as follows,
viz. : For the Gull Lake band, seventy acres ; for the Mille
Lac band, seventy acres ; for the Sandy Lake band, fifty
acres ; for the Pokagomin band, fifty acres ; for the Rabbit
Lake band, forty acres ; for the Rice Lake band, twenty
acres ; and to build for the chiefs of said bands one house
each, of the following descriptions : to be constructed of
hewn logs ; to be sixteen by twenty feet each, and two
stories high ; to be roofed with good shaved pine shingles ;

284 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

tlie floors to be of seasoned pine plank, jointed; stone or
brick fire-places and chimneys; three windows in lower
story, and two in the upper story, with good, substantial
shutters to each, and suitable doors ; said houses to be
pointed with lime mortar."

By article fifth it is further provided, that " the United
States agree to furnish to said Indians, parties to this
treaty, ten yokes of good, steady, work oxen, and twenty log
chains, annually, for ten years, provided the Indians shall
take proper care of, and make proper use of the same ; also,
for the same period, annually, two hundred grubbing hoes,
ten ploughs, ten grind stones, one hundred axes, handled,
not to exceed in weight three and one half pounds each ;
twenty spades. Also, two carpenters, and two blacksmiths,
and four farm laborers, and one physician."

In addition to the foregoing, there were several other
provisions tending to promote agriculture and education,
and otherwise to aid the Indians in the advancement of
civilization.

The Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippeways not
having joined in the foregoing treaty, a treaty was made
with them, October 2nd, 1863, by which those bands ceded
to the United States ah1 their rights to the territory within
the following boundaries : " Beginning at the point where
the international boundary between the United States and
the British possessions intersects the shore of the Lake of
the Woods ; thence in a direct line south- westwardly to the
head of Thief river ; thence down the main channel of said
Thief river to its mouth on the Red Lake river ; thence in
a south-easterly direction, in a direct line towards the head
of Wild Rice river, to the point where such line would
intersect the north-western boundary of a tract ceded to the
United States by a treaty concluded at Washington on the
22nd day of February, in the year 1855, with the Missis-
sippi, Pillager and Lake Winnibigoshish band of Chippe-
way Indians ; thence along the said boundary line of said

THE OJIBWA CONFEDERACY. 285

cession to the mouth of Wild Rice river ; thence up the
main channel of the Red river to the mouth of the Shayenne ;
thence up the main channel of the Shayenne river to Poplar
Grove; thence in a direct line to the 'Place of Stumps,'
otherwise called Lake Chicot ; thence in a direct line to the;
head of the main branch of Salt river; thence in a direct
line due north to the point where such line would intersect
the international boundary aforesaid; thence eastwardly
along said boundary to the place of beginning."

As the price of the said purchase, the United States
agreed to pay $20,000 per annum for twenty years, and
$100,000, out of which the Indians were to pay their debts,
together for damages for depredations committed on tho
whites.

This treaty was amended by the Senate, by striking out
the annuity, and providing that " the United States will
pay annually, during the pleasure of the President of the
United States, to the Red Lake band of Chippeways, the
sum of $10,000, and to the Pembina band $5,000." Also,
expend annually, for fifteen years, for the Red Lake band, in
goods, $8,000, and same for the Pembina band, $4,000 ; and
furnish said bands, for a like period, one blacksmith, one
physician, one miller, one farmer, and pay them annually,
for the like period, $1,500 worth of iron, steel, and other
articles for blacksmithing purposes, and $1,000 for carpen-
tering and other purposes ; also, " one saw-mill, with a run
of mill-stones attached."

A new treaty was made with the Chippeways of the Mis-
sissippi, May 7th, 1864, by which the Pz-esident was to select
locations for the different bands on their reservation, on the
extreme upper Mississippi. With this point in view, agent
Clark visited the upper country in the summer of 1865,
and on his return recommended to the Indian department
" to contract for the clearing, stumping, grubbing, breaking,
and planting, except planting in lots of not less than ten
acres, provided the cost shall not exceed twenty-five dollars

286 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

per acre, as follows : For the Gull Lake band, twenty acres
at Leech lake ; for the Rice Lake band, twenty acres at
Long lake; for the Pokegama band, fifty acres at Oak
Point ; for the Rabbit band, forty acres at Lake Winnipeg ;
for the Sandy band, twenty-five acres at Lake Winnipeg ;
for the Sandy band, twenty-five acres at Oak Point." The
agent also recommended that the new agency buildings be
located at Leech lake, to consist of " one dwelling for the
agent, one for the physician, two for carpenters, two for the
blacksmiths, two for the farmers, one for the interpreter,
one for the engineer; one school-house, two warehouses,
one blacksmith's shop, one carpenter's shop, and two stables ;
ah1 of which buildings, except shops and stables, to be
inclosed on three sides with good, substantial stockades :
provided the entire cost of buildings and stockade shall not
exceed $25,000, as per fourth article, treaty 7th May, 1864."

The discovery of gold in 1865, near the Indian reservation
at Lake Vermillion, and the advent of the gold-seekers
upon Indian territory, forced the United States and the Bois
Forte band of the Chippeways to make another treaty, and
the following were the first articles of the treaty concluded
at Washington, D. C., in April, 1866, which was soon after
ratified by the Senate, and published by the President :

" ARTICLE I. The peace and friendship now existing
between the United States and said Bois Forte bands of
Indians shall be perpetual.

" ARTICLE II. In consideration of the agreements, stipu-
lations, and undertakings to be performed by the United
States, and hereinafter expressed, the Bois Forte bauds of
Chippeways have agreed to, and do hereby, cede and for
ever relinquish and surrender to the United States, all their
right, title, claim and interest in and to all lands and terri-
tory heretofore claimed, held, or possessed by them, and
lying east of the boundary line mentioned and established
in and by the first article of the treaty made and concluded
by and between the United States of the one part, and the

THE OJIBWA CONFEDERACY. 287

Chippeways of Lake Superior and the Mississippi of the
other part, on the 30th day of September, A. D. ] 854, and
more especially in and to all that portion of said territory
heretofore claimed and occupied by them at and near Lake
Vermillion as a reservation. The Bois Forte band of Chip-
peways in like manner cede and relinquish for ever to the
United States all their claim, right, title, and interest in and
to all lands and territory lying westwardly of said boundary
line, or elsewhere within the limits of the United States.

" ARTICLE III. In consideration of the foregoing cession
and relinquishment, the United States agree to and will
perform the stipulations, undertakings, and agreements fol-
lowing, that is to say :

" 1st. There shall be set apart within one year after the
date of the ratification of this treaty, under the direction of
the President of the United States, within the Chippeway
country, for the perpetual use and occupancy of said Bois
Forte band of Chippeways, a tract of land of not less than
100,000 acres, the said location to include a lake known by
the name of Netor As-sab-a-co-na, if, upon examination of
the country by the agent sent by the President of the
United States to select the said reservation, it is found
practicable to include the said lake therein, and also one
township of land on the Grand Fork river, at the mouth of
Deer creek, if such location shall be found practicable.

" 2nd. The United States will, as soon as practicable
after the setting apart of the tract of country first above
mentioned, erect thereon, without expense to said Indians,
one .blacksmith's shop, to cost not exceeding five hundred
dollars ; one school-house, to cost not exceeding five hundred
dollars; and eight houses for their chiefs, to cost not
exceeding four hundred dollars each ; and a building for an
agency-house, and store-house for the storage of goods and
provisions, to cost not exceeding $2,000.

" 3d. The United States will expend annually, for and
in behalf of said Bois Forte band of Chippeways, for and

288 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

during the term of twenty years from and after the ratifica-
tion of this treaty, the several sums and for the purposes
following, to wit : For the support of one blacksmith and
assistant, and for tools, iron and steel, and other articles
necessary for the blacksmith's shop, $1,500; for one school
teacher, and the necessary books and stationery for the
school, $800, the chiefs in council to have the privilege of
selecting, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior,
the religious denomination to which the said teacher shall
belong ; for instructions of the said Indians in farming, and
the purchase of seed, tools, etc., for that purpose, $800 ;
and for annuity payments, the sum of $11,000, — $3,500 of
which shall be paid to them in money per capita, $1,000 in
provisions, ammunition, and tobacco, and $6,500 to be dis-
tributed to them in goods and other articles suited to their
wants and conditions.

" ARTICLE IV. To enable the chiefs, head men, and
warriors now present to establish their people upon the new
reservation, and to purchase useful articles and presents for
their people, the United States agree to pay to them, upon
the ratification of this treaty, the sum of $50,000, to be
expended under the direction of the Secretary of the
Interior."

From the examination of the several treaties between the
United States and the Chippeways, it will be observed that
a special effort has been made by the government, for the
civilization of this tribe or nation of Indians. Several dif-
ferent denominations of Christians, the principal of which
are the Methodist, Congregationalist, Episcopalian, and
Catholic, have from time to time seconded the efforts of
government, and attempted the introduction of Christianity,
but their united efforts have produced no adequate results.
Indeed, Mr. Bonga, the Indian interpreter to the Mississippi
bands, and a half-breed, declared, in his report in 1865, that
" it is now full thirty years since the government and mis-
sionaries have been trying in every way to get these Indians

THE OJIBWA CONFEDERACY. 289

to adopt in some way the habits of the white man, but all
their efforts have been to no purpose." Agent Webb, of the
Lake Superior bands, in his annual report dated November
8th, 1865, represented that those bands " seem to have been
almost constantly engaged in grand medicine dances, jug-
glery, and conjuring. I am unable to report any progress
or interest manifested in the schools. The Protestant
mission, under the control of the American Board of Com-
missioners of Foreign Missions, has been sustained among
these Indians for over twenty years. The Board have
decided to abandon it, for want of sufficient encouragement
to continue their labors."

The physician to the Mississippi bands has added much
to the'se discouraging reports, by his statement that the
venereal disease, contracted by the natives in their inter-
course with the vicious whites, almost threatens the exter-
mination of those bands.

The efforts of government, and of the missionaries, to
exclude spirituous liquors from these Indians, have been
constantly thwarted by the whisky-selling traders, who
thread the native forests of these bands from every point
of the compass ; and the failure in their agricultural enter-
prises is answered quite as readily, by stating the fact that
their frosty, timbered country, mainly situated between 47°
and 49° north latitude, is almost totally unfit for agricul-
ture. If it is true that these Indians are the " wards of
government," will not posterity demand why they were
taught agriculture in a non-agricultural region, and in-
structed in Christianity while they were surrounded by the
most vicious of the white race, constantly tempting their
savage appetites with liquid poison, which has proved quite
as fatal to Indian chastity as to Indian industry ?

By the report of the Indian agent of the Mississippi bands

in September, 1866, it appears that the agency buildings

were being constructed on the south side of Leech lake, but

that the Indians had not then removed to their new reser-

19

290 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

vations. The agent had also caused five whisky-traders to
be arrested and sent to St. Paul, to be indicted by the United
States District Court, which was accordingly done, adding
thereto several of their runners about Crow Wing. The
agent also complains that whisky is sold to some extent by
travelers.

The agent's report from Lake Superior, shows that one
hundred and fifty-eight Catholic Indians of Bad river reser-
vation, had petitioned for leave to build a church at that
point, and that he had granted the petition, notwithstanding
the remonstrance of -a Protestant missionary at the same
place. He represents the Catholic Indians to be on the
increase among the Chippeways of Lake Superior, and that
Catholic missionaries were producing " very salutary results
among these Indians in many different ways, especially in
restraining the use of ardent spirits."

When government places the Chippeways on permanent
reservations, and protects them from vicious whites, we
may hope for their regeneration.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE SACS, FOXES, AND POTOWATOMIES, AND A TABLE OF
ALL THE TRIBES, IN 1866.

The Sacs and Musquakies, or people of the " Red Land,"
first became known to the whites as inhabitants of northern
Michigan, about the Saginaw bay. Black Hawk claimed
that the Sacs anciently lived near Quebec, but in the early
wars of the Iroquois had been driven west to Mackinaw,
and from thence to Wisconsin, from which place they had
emigrated to Rock Island, where he was born. The Mus-
quakies were called Outagamies, or Foxes, by the Algonquin
tribes, from their totem, " a fox." From the fact that the
two tribes had the same customs, spoke the same Algonquin
dialect, have always lived together since they have been
known to the whites, and are now merged into one tribe,
we readily come to the conclusion that they were originally
two bands of the same tribe near Quebec, and in the early
Iroquois war fled to Michigan ; from there were swept off
by the Iroquois raids against the Hurons in 1649, and with
the Hurons took shelter at Mackinaw ; and that about 1652
were again defeated, and fled to the Fox river in Wisconsin.

In previous chapters we have traced their wars with the
Sioux to 1702, then with the Chippeways and French to
1754, when the French effected a peace between them, the
Chippeways and Christinaux, and themselves, after which
they were allies of the French until the fall of Canada' in
1760. From 1702 to 1754, the French exhausted every art

292 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

of both war and diplomacy, to break up their alliance with
the Sioux, and make them take up the tomahawk against
the English, but without effect. Hence the French called
them all kinds of hard names, and repeatedly had them all
exterminated and driven out of Wisconsin. After the fall
of Canada, these tribes united again with the Sioux, Kick-
apoos, and Winnebagoes, and soon nearly exterminated the
Illinois. They were also joined by the Ottawas after the
assassination of Pontiac, who revenged the assassination on
the Peorias. After this war, they joined the British against
the colonies in our revolution, and after the close of that
war, they crossed the Mississippi, and drove the lowas,
Missourias, and Mandans, out of the greater part of the
present State of Iowa.

About in this position Governor Harrison found them
when he took possession of the west side of the upper
Mississippi, after its purchase from France. At this time
our government adopted the policy of extinguishing the
Indian title to all lands east of the Mississippi, and locating
the Indians on the west side. This policy soon alarmed the
Shawnees and Miamies, as well as the Sacs and Foxes, and
led to the Tecumseh Confederacy, which was only broken
up by the battle of Tippecanoe, in November, 1811.

Among the first treaties negotiated by Governor Harrison,
to carry into effect the removal of the Indians west of the
Mississippi, was that of November 3, 1804, at St. Louis,
with the Sacs and Foxes.

This treaty ceded to the United States the following
territory : " Beginning at a point on the Missouri river
opposite to the mouth of the Gasconade river ; thence, in a
direct couree, so as to strike the river Jefferson at the dis-
tance of thirty miles from its mouth, and down the said
Jefferson to the Mississippi ; thence, up the Mississippi to the
mouth of the Ouisconsing river, and up the same to a point
wnich shall be thirty-six miles in a direct line from the
mouth of said river ; thence, by a direct line, to the point

THE SACS, FOXES, AND POTOWATOMIES. 293

where the Fox river (a branch of the Illinois) leaves the
small lake called Sakuegan ; thence, down the Fox river to
the Illinois river, and down the same to the Mississippi."

For this large tract of land, covering large parts of
Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri, the government engaged
to give $2,234.50 in goods, and an annuity of f 1,000 per
year forever in goods, at costs at the place where pur-
chased.

This was a small price in proportion to what was after-
wards paid for Indian lands, but as the title to a portion of
the territory was subsequently disputed, it may not have
been a very unreasonable price at the time.

But, however, it gave great dissatisfaction to the tribes,
and Black Hawk charged, in subsequent years, that the
chiefs were not authorized to sell the land ; besides that,
they were made drunk, and did not know that they had
made any such treaty. During the war of 1812, Black
Hawk, with his belligerent warriors, went to Detroit, and
the balance of the tribe of Sacs put themselves under the
protection of the United States, and settled on the Missouri
river, and at the close of the war signed a treaty of peace,
as did the Foxes also, both confirming the treaty of 1804.
Black Hawk, being threatened with an armed force, finally
concluded to go down to St. Louis, and the 13th of May,
1816, signed a treaty of peace, ratifying the treaty of 1804 ;
and further engaged to " deliver up all the property they had
stolen or plundered from the United States since they were
notified of the treaty of peace with Great Britain." To this
treaty Black Hawk acknowledged that he " touched the
quill," but denied that he understood that by it he surren-
dered his village on Rock river.

By another treaty of the 3rd September, 1&22, the Sacs
and Foxes relinquished their right to have the United
States establish a "trading house, or factory," at a con-
venient point at which the Indians could trade, and save

UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

themselves from the imposition of traders, for which the
United States paid $1,000 in merchandise.

By another treaty of the 4th August, 1824, the Sacs and
Foxes sold the United States all their lands in the State of
Missouri, north of the Missouri river, for which they received
$1,000 the same year, and an annuity of $1,000 per year for
ten years ; to a half-breed, $500, for his losses during the
late TV ar ; and the United States agreed to furnish a black-
smith during the pleasure of the President of the United
States, and some other gratuities, as the President " may
deem expedient."

By a treaty held with the various Indian tribes of the
upper Mississippi, by the United States, August 19th, 1825,
at Prairie Du Chien, to settle the old Sioux and Chippeway
war, and a war lately commenced between the Sacs, Foxes,
and lowas, against the Sioux, and establish peace, by
agreeing on the boundary lines between the different tribes,
our government found that the various tribes had many
conflicting claims ; but between the Sioux, and Sacs, and
Foxes, they agreed to a line " commencing at the mouth
of the Upper Iowa river, and ascending said river to its left
fork ; thence up that fork to its source ; thence crossing the
fork of Red Cedar river, in a direct line to the second or
upper fork of the Des Moines ; and thence in a direct line
to the lower fork of the Calumet river, and down that river
to its junction with the Missouri ;" but from the Des Moines
to the Missouri the line was held subject to the claims of
the Yankton band of Sioux, and the lowas and Ottoes.

By another treaty with the Sacs, Foxes, and Indians
west, made July 15th, 1830, a large tract of country in the
south-western part of the State of Iowa, extending west
from the Des Moines river to the Missouri, was set apart,
and the President was authorized to locate thereon the
tribes which then inhabited it, as well as other tribes. The
Sacs and Foxes in this treaty ceded to the United States a
strip of land twenty miles wide, from the Mississippi to the

THE SACS, FOXES, AND POTOWATOMIES. 295

Des Moines, on the north side of their territory, and on the
south side of the line agreed upon between them and the
Sioux in the treaty of 1825, and the Medawah-kanton,
Wah-pay-koota, Wahpeton and Sisseton bands of the Sioux ;
also cede to the United States a similar tract of twenty
miles wide, on the north side of the tract above ceded by
*he Sacs and Foxes.

The time having arrived for the Sacs and Foxes to leave
_the east bank of the Mississippi, under the treaty of 1804,
Ke-o-kuck, or " Watchful Fox," the leader of the friendly
Sacs and Foxes, erected his wigwam on the west side of
the river, and was followed by perhaps two-thirds of the
two tribes; but Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah, or the "Black
Sparrow-Hawk," commonly called " Black Hawk," with
his band, refused to leave their village near Rock Island.
They contended that they had not sold their village, evi-
dently believing that the Americans would not drive them
off by force.

" Black Hawk" and his surviving warriors of the war of
1812, were evidently no friends of the Americans, and
associated with his brother, "Wau-ba-kee-shik, the " Pro-
phet," sent his war belts to neighboring tribes, and sought
to establish another confederacy, after the manner of
Pontiac and Tecumseh, claiming to have had promises of
assistance from the English at Maiden, and the Potowa-
tomies, Winnebagoes and other tribes; but as the sequel
proved, he evidently imposed on his too credulous warriors.

In the spring of 1832, Governor Reynolds, of Illinois,
ordered out 1,800 militia, and notified General Atkinson,
then in command of the regular troops, of the movements
of Black Hawk. The General moved up the Mississippi
early in April, and ordered " Black Hawk " to leave the
country. The 27th of April, the Illinois militia, under
Brigadier-General Samuel Whitesides, of the State militia,
commenced their march up the Mississippi to Rock river.

"Black Hawk," hearing of the advance of forces, re-

296 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

treated up Rock river, and sent word to General Atkinson
that he was going to raise corn at the prophet's town above.

General Whiteside was ordered to follow " Black Hawk"
fifty miles, to the prophet's town, and await the arrival of
the regular troops under General Atkinson, with provisions.

Pursuant to the order, General Whiteside advanced to
the prophet's town, which he burnt, and forty miles further,
to Dixon's ferry, where he met Majors Stillman and Baily,
with 275 additional militia from the region of Peoria, and
halted for the regular troops.

Majors Stillman and Baily asked leave to follow after
" Black Hawk," to watch his motions, and were allowed to
do so. They advanced with their forces the 12th of May,
to a place now called Stillman's Run, and encamped for the
night. Soon after the camp was pitched, they discovered
three Indians a mile distant, approaching with a white flag,
when a few of Stillman's men, without orders, mounted
their horses, advanced upon and took the Indians prisoners.
" Black Hawk " dispatched five more Indians to look after
the first three who were attacked ; two of these were killed
by Stillman's men, and the balance escaped. " Black
Hawk," being near at hand, raised the war-whoop and
attacked the advance party, who, retreating back to their
camp, spread the alarm, when the whole of Stillman's force
broke and fled to Dixon, and were pursued by some forty
Indians several miles. Eleven whites were killed. The
Indians lost three, and received the plunder of the camp.

" Black Hawk " then advanced up the river, and pitched
his camp near the four lakes, in Wisconsin. General
Atkinson soon joined General Whiteside at Dixon, when
the militia insisted on going home, and were discharged
from further service.

When the news of the advance of " Black Hawk " up
Rock river reached the mining region in Wisconsin, General
Dodge, of Dodgeville, raised a party of twenty-seven volun-
teers, and started for Rock river, to confer with General

THE SACS, POXES, AND POTOW ATOMIES. 297

Atkinson, but met an express from Governor Reynolds,
advising him of the fight at Stillman's Run, when he turned
home, and rallied the miners to defend the country. They
in a few days erected thirteen forts or block-houses, for the
security of their families, and General Dodge occupied Fort
Union at Dodgeville.

Black Hawk dispatched numerous parties to the settle-
ments, to kill and plunder. One of these parties came to
the mines and commenced depredations.

General Dodge immediately rallied twenty-eight men,
followed the trail of the Indians to the Pickatonica river,
when, leaving their horses with seven men, General Dodge
and the balance waded the river, and as they raised the
opposite bank, received the fire of the Indians, then in
ambush. Nothing daunted, the General and his party
charged the Indians before they could load, killing every
one in less than five minutes — seventeen in number — while
the loss of the miners was only three killed and one
wounded.

This affair showed to good advantage the character of
General Dodge, who had been raised in the Indian country.
Several other skirmishes were had before the advance of
General Atkinson.

After the return of the militia, General Atkinson had too
small a force to advance, and Governor Reynolds again
called for volunteers, when 4,200 men hastened to the
general's standard, and by the 22nd of June commenced
ascending Rock river. They found that " Black Hawk "
was at the mouth of White Water river, above Lake
Koshkonong. General Atkinson sent a part of his forces
by way of the mines, where they were joined by General
Dodge and 250 miners, and formed a junction with General
Atkinson at Koshkonong. The commander of the expedi-
tion being short of provisions, he sent Generals Henry,
Alexander, Posey, and Dodge, with their commands, to
Fort Winnebago for supplies. Generals Posey and Alex-
19*

298 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

ander returned with the provisions, and Generals Henry and
Dodge struck across the country to Rock river, at the
rapids, where they discovered the Indian trail and gave
immediate pursuit. On the 21st of July they reached the
south bank of the Wisconsin river, opposite Sac Prairie,
where they found " Black Hawk " engaged in transporting
his squaws and children across the river. " Black Hawk "
led a part of his waniors against the whites to hold them in
check, while the balance aided in crossing the river. The
battle lasted until dark, and the Indians crossed the river
with small loss.

" Black Hawk " bent his course through the heavy forests
to the north-west, hoping to escape across the Mississippi ;
and as his poor fugitive band toiled over those high and
interminable bluffs, they left the trail literally strewed with
those who had died from wounds and starvation. At length
they reached the Mississippi some two miles below the
mouth of Bad Ax river, and commenced crossing in canoes,
but were stopped by a steamboat sent up the river with
some troops and a cannon. On the 2nd day of August,
the American forces, the advance of which was led on by
General Dodge, and supported by Colonel Zach. Taylor,
with his regulars, came up on the trail, and commenced an
immediate attack. The warriors attempted to check the
troops, while the squaws, with their childi-en on their backs,
attempted to swim across a branch of the river to an island,
but were mercilessly shot down by the exasperated soldiers.
" Black Hawk," with the Prophet and their families,
escaped to the Winnebago village at La Crosse, and
delivered themselves up to De Carry, the chief of that
band. About one hundred and fifty escaped across the
river, but were pursued by the Sioux, then allies of the
Americans, and nearly half of them massacred by those
savages.

Prisoners were not reckoned among the trophies of the
victory. Mr. James Reed, who visited the battle-ground

THE SACS, FOXES, AND POTOW ATOMIES. 299

the same day, declared to the writer that it was literally a
slaughter of squaws and children ; and that, drifted against
some flood-wood, he counted a dozen Indian girls from
fourteen to sixteen years of age, who had been shot in
attempting to swim the river. He rescued a little girl who
was clinging to her dead mother, and took her to the
prairie.

The Winnebago chief, Winnoshiek, whose wife was
sister to the " Prophet," remained neutral ; but his son,
about eighteen years old, acted as guide to " Black Hawk,"
and, together with a son of the " Prophet," about the same
age, were wounded and taken prisoners early the next
morning after the battle, while engaged in helping some
squaws to cross the river from the island.

De Carry, another Winnebago chief, assisted the Ameri-
cans with a company of warriors, and aided a party of
whites in capturing a few Indians and squaws who went
down the Wisconsin ; but he had returned to La Crosse, at
the time of the battle at Bad Ax.

" Black Hawk" and his party, in all twenty-one, delivered
themselves to De Carry at La Crosse, who sent " Black
Hawk" and the " Prophet" to the government agent at
Prairie Du Chien, by I\7iay-rah-tshoan-saip-Jcaw, or " Black
Hawk," an under chief of the Winnebagoes, and a canoe-
man, who was half-breed Sioux and Winnebago. Mr. James
Reed saw the party land at Prairie Du Chien.

The newspaper speeches put into the mouths of De Carry
and Charter, if made by any Indians, were made by the
Winnebago " Black Hawk" and his boatman, as De Carry
informed the writer that he did not go to Prairie Du Chien
at the time. Through the influence of Mr. Saterlee Clark,
then an Indian trader at the Prairie, and perhaps some
others, the government paid $1,000 for the capture of
" Black Hawk" and the " Prophet," which was distributed
between Mr. Clark, De Carry, one of the " Thunders," and
probably some others.

300 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

This war having closed by the killing or capture of the
greater part of " Black Hawk's" and the " Prophet's" band,
the government convened at Rock Island the balance of the
Sacs and Foxes, and on the 21st day of September, 1832,
concluded a treaty with them, of which the following is the
preamble :

" Whereas, under certain lawless and desperate leaders, a
formidable band, constituting a large portion of the Sac and
Fox nation, left their country in April last, and, in violation
of treaties, commenced an unprovoked war upon unsuspect-
ing and defenceless citizens of the United States, sparing
neither age nor sex ; and whereas the United States, at a
great expense of treasure, have subdued the said hostile
bauds, killing and capturing all its principal chiefs and
warriors, the said States, partly as indemnity for the
expense incurred, and partly to secure the future safety and
tranquility of the invaded frontier, demand of the said
tribes, to the use of the United States, a cession of a tract
of the Sac and Fox country bordering on said frontier, more
than proportional to the number of the hostile band who
have been so conquered and subdued.

" ARTICLE I. Accordingly, the confederated tribes of
Sacs and Foxes hereby cede to the United States for ever,
all the lands to which the said tribes have title or claim
(with the exception of the reservation hereinafter made,)
included within the following bounds, to wit: Beginning
on the Mississippi river, at a point where the Sac and Fox
northern boundary line, as established by the second article
of the treaty of Prairie Du Chien, of the 15th of July, 1825,
strikes said river ; thence up said boundary line to a point
fifty miles from the Mississippi, measured on said line;
thence in a right line to the nearest point on the Red Cedar
of the Iowa, forty miles from the Mississippi river ; thence
in a right line to a point in the northern boundary line of
the State of Missouri, fifty miles, measured on said bound-
ary, from the Mississippi river ; thence by the last men-

BLACK HAWK

(SAC CHIEF.)

THE SACS, FOXES, AND POTOWATOMIES. 303

tioned boundary to the Mississippi river, and by the western
shore of said river to the place of beginning."

The Sacs and Foxes further agreed to remove from said
land by the 1st of June, 1832, and not hunt or fish thereon
after that date.

The reservation above named was of four hundred square
miles, on both sides of the Iowa river, which was to include
Ke-o-kuk's village, located twelve miles from the Missis-
sippi.

In addition to our losses in the war, the United States
agreed to pay the Sacs and Foxes an annual annuity of
$20,000 for thirty years, and also pay " Farnham and
Davenport, Indian traders at Rock Island, the sum of
$40,000," for Indian debts, and grant to Le Claire, inter-
preter, two sections of land, and maintain among the Sacs
and Foxes a gun and blacksmith, with steel, etc.

The United States restored all prisoners, but stipulated
that the remnant of " Black Hawk's" band should be dis-
tributed equally among the two tribes ; and " Black Hawk,"
the " Prophet," their sons, Napope, and two other warriors,
should remain, during the pleasure of the President, as
hostages for the good conduct of their band.

The United States, also, " to give a striking evidence of
their mercy and liberality," gave the tribes " thirty -five beef
cattle, twelve bushels of salt, thirty barrels of pork, and
fifty barrels of flour, and cause to be delivered, for the same
purpose, in the month of April next, at the mouth of the
lower Iowa, 6,000 bushels of corn." The treaty was
signed by Major-General Winfield Scott and Governor
John 'Reynolds, on the part of the United States, and by
Ke-o-kuk and thirty-two chiefs and warriors on the part of
the United States.

304 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

This treaty opened the whole eastern part of the present
State of Iowa for settlement, and in June and July of 1833
the great tide of emigrants poured into and founded that
State. The reservation named in the foregoing treaty was
finally ceded to the United States, September 28th, 1836,
for which the government paid seventy-five cents per acre
in coin.

By another treaty, made October 21st, 1837, the Sacs and
Foxes ceded 1,250,000 acres lying along the west line of
the cession of 1832, for which the United States gave
$377,000.

The Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri river, by a separate
treaty of the same date, ceded to the United States all the
land belonging to that band east of the Missouri river, for
which the government paid them $160,000.

And finally, on the llth of October, 1842, the confederate
tribes of Sacs and Foxes ceded all the balance of their lands
west of the Mississippi, for $1,058,566, besides some items
of provisions, etc. ; and in addition, the United States
engaged to procure them another tract of land, for their
residence, on the Missouri river or its branches, and the
Mississippi bands were accordingly located by the Presi-
dent on a reservation of 435,200 acres on the Osage river;
while the Missouri band occupied a reservation on the south
side of the Great Nemaha river, nearly in the south-eastern
corner of the territory of Nebraska.

By a new treaty, the Sac and Fox band of the Missouri,
in 1863, were located on twenty -five sections previously
belonging to the lowas, while their own lands were to be
frold for the joint benefit of the Sacs and Foxes and lowas.

The accounts which have been given by authors from
time to time of the numbers of the Sacs and Foxes, have
varied much more than the tribe would be likely to change,
and the inaccuracies probably originated from the lack of
proper information.

When the Rev. Father Allouez first met these tribes at

THE SACS, FOXES, AKD POTOWATOMIES. 305

Cha-goua-mi-gong bay, Lake Superior, in 1665, he estimated
the Foxes at 1,000 warriors and hunters; and while he did
not pretend to estimate the Sacs, he remarked that he had
seen two hundred of their warriors. When the Rev. Father
visited the Foxes at their residence on Fox river, in 1670,
he remarked, that " this nation is renowned for being
numerous ; they have more than four hundred men bearing
arms ; the number of women and children is greater, on
account of polygamy, which exists among them, each man
having commonly four wives, some of them six, and others
as high as ten ;" and that the previous March, "six great
lodges," containing about one hundred, were cut off by the
Iroquois. In 1718 the Foxes were estimated by the French
to have five hundred men, and the Sacs one hundred and
twenty; and in 1736 they were again set down at one
hundred and fifty Sac and one hundred Fox warriors. In
1763 Sir William Johnson estimated them at three hundred
Sac and three hundred and twenty Fox (men.) Lieutenant
Gorrill, commandant at Green Bay, in 1761, estimated the
Foxes on Fox river at three hundred and fifty warriors,
and Sacs, near the Mississippi, at the same number.

Captain Carver, who visited these tribes in 1766, estimated
the Sacs at 300 warriors, who spent their summers in wars
against the Illinois and Pawnee Indians ; and stated that
the Sacs then lived on the Wisconsin river at a great village
of ninety houses, one day's journey below the portage.
Their houses were "built of hewn plank, neatly jointed,
and covered with bark," each large enough to hold several
families. About this time the band probably located at
Rock Island. The Foxes he found at Prairie Du Chien,
which then contained about three hundred houses, " well
built after the Indian manner."

In 1841, it appears from a public document, that the Sacs

and Foxes of the Mississippi, by estimation, numbered

6,400, and those of the Missouri river, 500 souls. In June,

1858, the former numbered 1,330, and the latter, 322 ; while

20

306 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

in 1863, the former numbered in May only 975, and the
latter, betVeen the ages of eighteen and forty -five, sixty, of
whom thirty-seven were, in October of that year, volunteers
in the United States military service.

By the census of May 15, 1865, the Sacs and Foxes of
the Mississippi in Kansas numbered 364 men, and 441
women, while those of the Missouri in the Great Nemaha
agency, numbered only 44 men and 51 women, or a total of
900 souls.

It is believed, however, by the writer, that this diminution
is not caused by the absolute decay of the tribes to the
extent indicated, but mainly to the uncivilized portions
emigrating to the regions of the buffalo and the Rocky
mountains. In 1859 a chief, with six lodges, dissatisfied
with the efforts of government to establish civilization,
removed, and settled in Iowa, where they were in 1866. It
is a fact well known, that many of the trappers and traders
of Wisconsin and Minnesota, passed on before the tide of
emigration, and their log huts for years after might have
been seen among the beaver dams in the dark canons of
the sources of the Columbia and Missouri livers ; and it is
reasonable to infer that most of those took with them their
Indian friends, with whom they had become connected in
marriage or in trade. The Indian loves hunting, and when
game became scarce in one locality, it was his custom to
go where it was more plenty ; and thus probably thousands
have joined the tribes of the Rocky mountains, thereby
decimating the eastern tribes, and leading us to believe that
civilization is working their extermination.

The Sacs and Foxes of the Kansas agency, in 1865, raised
7,500 bushels of corn, and had 1,700 horses and ponies; and
the total of all their personal property was estimated at
$71,910. They are, however, what are called "Blanket
Indians," having as yet not availed themselves, to much
extent, of the allotment of the land, as provided by an act

POTOWATOMIES. 307

of Congress, although their land has lately been surveyed
for that purpose.

In April, 1863, the Rev. R. P. Duval, and lady, of the
Methodist Episcopal church, commenced a mission school
in the tribe ; also a Sabbath school, with preaching on the
Sabbath. They received some help from some members of
the tribe, and in 1866 the government rendered them some
assistance from the educational fund ; and the latter year
wei'e reported as well sustained by the Indians, and as
accomplishing much good. Drunkenness in 1865 had nearly
disappeared from the tribe, and Superintendent Murphy,
the following year, said of them, that " They are, as a
tribe, the most intelligent Indians I have yet met, and I
believe as a general thing mean to do right." During 1866,
traders sowed dissensions among them, and much embit-
tered the uncivilized portions, headed by their chief, Mo-
ko-ho-ko, and nearly produced a civil war ; but these
differences were harmonized by special agent W. R. Irwin,
and peace was restored. The chiefs Keokuk, Che-ko-skuck,
and Pah-teck-quaw, head the party for civilization, and
themselves live in houses and cultivate land. The duty of
government in this case to render prompt protection was
made apparent by the Sioux massacre.

The Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri, in 1866, were
reported by agent Norris as not as much advanced in civili-
zation as the lowas, but were "a remarkably civil, well-
disposed tribe."

POTOWATOMIES.

This tribe, according to the Jesuit missionaries, originally
occupied, with the Sacs and Foxes, that part of Michigan
between Saginaw Bay and Lake Michigan. In 1639 a band
of them occupied the northern islands in Green Bay, and
were by the Sioux, the next year, driven off, and took refuge
at the falls of St. Mary. The identity of their language and
customs with the Sacs and Foxes, leaves no doubt that they

308 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

were originally a kindred band to those tribes, and expelled
with them from Canada previous to 1639, by the Iroquois.
After that war subsided, and previous to 1700, the Potowat-
omies divided into two principal bands, and one located
near Detroit, and the other at St. Joseph's, Michigan ; while
a few stragglers, with others of a like character from several
other tribes, located at Milwaukee, which were afterwards
known as " the united tribes of Ottawas, Chippeways and
Pottawatamies, residing on the Illinois and Milwaukee
rivers, and their waters, and on the south-western parts of
Lake Michigan." Captain De Peyster, the British com-
mandant at Mackinaw in 1779, called these bands "rune-
gates of Milwaukee — a horrid set of refractory Indians."
It was these bands that attacked and captured the retreating
command of Captain Heald, at Chicago, August 15, 1812.

These lawless bands having no land of their own, natur-
ally enough claimed all the land of their respective tribes,
and the United States got into difficulty with them in their
purchase of the Sacs and Foxes of the south-west part of
Wisconsin, and north-west part of Illinois, by the treaty of
1804.

To settle all cause of complaint, the United States treated
with them August 24, 1816, obtained a release of their claim
of the land purchased of the Sacs and Foxes south of " a
due west line from the southern extremity of Lake Michi-
gan to the Mississippi," and the United States released to
them the balance of their purchase north of said line,
except five leagues square at the mouth of the Wisconsin
river, including Prairie Du Chien. The United States also
purchased of them the following tract : " Beginning on the
left bank of the Fox river of Illinois, ten miles above the
mouth of said Fox river; thence, running so as to cross
Sandy creek ten miles above its mouth ; thence, in a direct
line, to a point ten miles north of the west end of the por-
tage, between Chicago creek, which empties into Lake
Michigan, and the river Desplaines, a fork of the Illinois;

POTOWATOMIES. 309

thence, in a dii-ect line, to a point on Lake Michigan ten
miles northward of the mouth of Chicago creek ; thence,
along the lake, to a point ten miles southward of the mouth
of said Chicago creek ; thence, in a direct line, to a point on
the Kankakee ten miles above its mouth ; thence, with the
said Kankakee and the Illinois river, to the mouth of Fox
river ; and thence, to the place of beginning." This tract
included Chicago, which had previously been purchased by
General Wayne in 1795.

As the consideration for the cession in the treaty, the
United States delivered " a considerable quantity of mer-
chandise," and agreed " to pay them, annually, for the term
of twelve years, goods to the value of $1,000, at cost price."

By the treaty of 1825 with the various tribes, to settle
their respective boundaries, and to establish peace between
the Sioux on one part, and the Chippeways, Sacs, Foxes,
lowas, and probably other tribes on the other, it was found
that nearly all the tribes had conflicting boundaries ; but
the United States recognized the rights of these bands of
Ottawas, Chippeways, and Potowatomies to the mineral
country about Galena, and in 1828 the United States made
an unsuccessful attempt to purchase that country of these
bands. They renewed the effort the following year, and,
July 29th, obtained the following cession: " Beginning at
the Winnebago village, on Rock river, forty miles from its
mouth, and running thence down the Rock river to a line
which runs due west from the most southern bend of Lake
Michigan to the Mississippi river, and with that line to the
Mississippi river opposite Rock Island ; thence up that
river to the United States reservation at the mouth of the
Ouisconsin ; thence with the south and east lines of said
reservation to the Ouisconsin river; thence southerly,
passing the heads' of the small streams emptying into the
Mississippi, to the Rock river aforesaid, at the Winnebago
village, the place of beginning.

" Also, one other tract of land, described as follows, to

310

UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

wit: Beginning on the western shore of Lake Michigan, at
the north-east corner of the field of Antoine Ouitmette, who
lives near Gross Pointe, about twelve miles north of
Chicago ; thence running due west to Rock river, afore-
said ; thence down the said river to where a line drawn due
west from the most southern bend of Lake Michigan crosses
said river; thence east, along said line, to the Fox river of
the Illinois ; thence along the north-western boundary line
of the cession of 181 b to Lake Michigan; thence north-
wardly, along the western shore of said lake to the place
of beginning." From these tracts, the Indians reserved
eleven sections for three Indians, and several more for
certain half-breeds.

The consideration paid for this purchase was: $11,601,
for Indian debts; $12,000 worth of goods the following
October, and $16,000 " annually for ever in specie;" and
" make permanent, for the use of the said Indians, the black-
smith's establishment at Chicago."

By a treaty with the Potowatomies, without naming any
other bands, made October 20th, 1832, they ceded the fol-
lowing additional territory : " Beginning at a point on
Lake Michigan ten miles southward of the mouth of
Chicago river; thence, in a direct line, to a point on the
Kankakee river, ten miles above its mouth ; thence, with
said river and the Illinois river to the mouth of Fox river,
being the boundary of a cession made by them in 1816;
thence, with the southern boundary of the Indian territory,
to the State line between Illinois and Indiana ; thence north
with said line to Lake Michigan ; thence, with the shore of
Lake Michigan, to the place of beginning."

From this tract nearly forty sections were reserved to
various chiefs and half-breeds. The government gave the
Indians for this tract an annuity for twenty years of $15,000,
and $600 annually to Billy Caldwell, $200 to Alexander
Robinson, and $200 to Peter Le Clerc, during their natural
lives; also, paid Indian debts to traders, $28,746; $75,000

POTOWATOMIES. 311

in merchandise, and $1,400 for horses stolen during the
" Black Hawk" war ; and the Indians were allowed to
hunt and fish on the land and vicinity as long as it remained
the property of the United States, in consideration that said
tribe had been " the faithful allies of the United States
during the late conflict with the Sacs and Foxes."

The other bands of the Potowatomies that emigrated to
Detroit and to St. Joseph's, above mentioned, by diverse
treaties sold the most of their land in Indiana, Ohio, and
Michigan, except some reservations, and emigrated west of
the Mississippi, where a general treaty was formed in 1846,
uniting the different bands, with the following preamble :
" Whereas, the various bands of the Potowatomie Indians,
known as the Chippeways, Ottawas, and Potowatomies, the
Potowatomies of the Prairie, the Potowatomies of the
W abash, and the Potowatomies of Indiana, have, subse-
quent to the year 1828, entered into separate and distinct
treaties with the United States, by which they have been
separated and located in different countries, and difficulties
have arisen as to the proper distribution of the stipulations
under various treaties, and being the same people by
kindred, by feeling, and by language, and having, in former
periods, lived on and owned their lands in common ; and
being desirous to unite in one common country, and again
become one people, and receive their annuities and other
benefits in common, and to abolish all minor distinctions
of bands by which they have heretofore been divided, and
are anxious to be known only as the POTOWATOMIE NATION,
thereby reinstating the national character ; and whereas the
Unite'd States are also anxious to restore and concentrate
said tribes to a state so desirable and necessary for the
happiness of their people, as well as to enable the govern-
ment to arrange and manage its intercourse with them :
now, therefore, the United States and said Indians do
hereby agree that said people shall hereafter be known ag. a
nation, to be called the POTOWATOMIE NATION."

812 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

By the second article of said treaty, " the said tribes of
Indians hereby agree to sell and cede, and do hereby sell
and cede to the United States, all the lands to which they
have claim of any kind whatsoever, and especially the tracts
or parcels of lands ceded to them by the treaty of Chicago,
and subsequent thereto, and now in whole or in part pos-
sessed by their people, lying and being north of the river
Missouri, and embraced in the limits of the territory of Iowa,
and also all that tract of country lying and being on or near
the Osage river, and west of the State of Missouri ; it being
understood that these cessions are not to affect the title of
said Indians to any grants or reservations made to them by
former treaties."

The consideration for this cession was $850,000 ; $87,000
of which were to be paid by the cession to the Indians of
576,000 acres of land on both sides of the Kansas river,
west of the Missouri river, on to which land the consolidated
tribe wTas to remove and permanently settle, within two
years from the date of the ratification of the treaty.

They promptly removed to their reservation, with few
exceptions, and numbered, on the "annuity roll of 1854,"
3,444. Two hundred and fifty, who had intermarried with
the Kickapoos, remained with that tribe, a few families with
the Sacs and Foxes, and a few more remained back in the
States of Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, so that the whole
tribe in 1854 was estimated to contain about 4,000 souls.

The political diificulties which originated in the organiza-
tion of the Kansas territory in 1854, tended to demoralize
the Indians of that territory, and the new emigrants tres-
passed upon their lands, and sold them whisky; and the anti-
legislative party opened the ballot-box and attempted to
make partisan speeches among them, notwithstanding the
Indian reservations were expressly excluded from the
operations of the law organizing the territory. The
" Prairie" or " Blanket" Indians, who were adverse to the
civilization of the tribe, committed depredations on the

POTOWATOMIES. 313

" Farmer" Indians, by killing some of their stock and burn-
ing some of their cabins, but, fortunately for the Indians,
they did not so far approximate to civilization as to imitate
their white neighbors in their midnight assassinations.

The Indians complained that the government had not
complied with their promises to induce the Indians to emi-
grate, and finally refused to accept their annuity.

The most of these troubles were only temporary, and in
1858 the Indian agent reported that a portion of the " Prairie
band" had commenced improving farms and sending their
children to the schools, which were very prosperous.

The desire of the farmers to have their farms set off to
them in severalty, was carried into effect by a treaty, in
1861, and the government caused a survey of the reserva-
tion for that purpose, and in September, 1863, the agent
reported that " allotments had been made to 1,375 persons,
seven of whom were chiefs, drawing one section each;
seven head* men, each one-half section; and the balance,
eighty acres each, making in the aggregate about 136,240
acres." Many of those farmers intended to become citizens
of the United States under the act of Congress for that
purpose. The uncivilized portions of the tribe continued
to hold their lands in common.

The census of the tribe in June, 1863, then numbered 648
men, 593 women, and 1,033 children; total, 2,274. This
was a large decrease since 1854, part of which was occa-
sioned by deaths, but the greater part by stragglers to the
hunting regions of the west, and to their old homes in the
States. This year, they raised 3,720 bushels of wheat,
45,000 bushels of corn, 1,200 bushels of oats, 20 acres of
potatoes, and had 1,200 horses, 1,000 cattle, 2,000 hogs, and
1,000 tons of hay.

The Catholic school averaged, during the year, ninety-
five male pupils, under the care of four male teachers of the
" Society of Jesus," and seventy-five girls under the care of
" four ladies of the Society of the Sacred Heart," both under
20*

314 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

the general supervision of Rev. J. F. Diel. This school had
then existed twenty years, and was conducted on the man-
ual labor principle.

Independent of this, there was a select school of fifteen
scholars under a female teacher. The Baptist manual labor
school, being under the patronage of the church south, was
discontinued early in 1861, on the breaking out of the rebel-
lion, but was revived in 1866 by other persons.

The population of the Potowatomies June 1, 1865, was
1,874, being a decrease, since the previous year, of 404,
which the agent accounted for by " forty going south," and
" about 400 going north. Of those who went south, noth-
ing certain is known. Of the other party, a few have
returned, the main body having scattered through parts of
Iowa and Wisconsin, some having gone as far as Michigan."

That part of the tribe which remained, cultivated 1,900
acres, of which 1,600 were put to corn, and 100 to wheat.
Their total valuation of personal property in 1865, was
estimated at $184,200. The agent further says that "a
large proportion of that part of the tribe who have received
lands in severally, are industriously engaged in opening
farms upon their allotments," and that many of those " are
already sufficiently intelligent to be intrusted with the man-
agement of their own affairs." Seventy-one of the young
Indians entered the Union army, being thereto advised by
the chiefs.

The St. Mary's Catholic mission school had 240 scholars
of both sexes, and was in a prosperous condition in 1865.

In 1866 this school was still in successful operation, and
the superintendent, speaking of the pupils, said : " They
not only spell, read, write, and cypher, but they study with
success the various other branches of geography, history,
and book-keeping, grammar, algebra, geometry, logic, phi-
losophy, and astronomy. Besides, they are so docile, so
willing to improve, that between their school hours they
employ themselves, with pleasure, in learning whatever

POTOWATOMIE8. 315

handiwork may be assigned to them," and particularly " to
become good farmers." The girls, in addition to their
studies, are " trained to acquire whatever may be deemed
useful to good housekeepers and accomplished mothers of
families."

The tribe, in 1866, were still troubled by white trespassers
and whisky-sellers, although the agent had caused several
of them to be indicted and punished every year. A limited
number of farmers had become naturalized citizens, and
others were about making application for citizenship.

We close our sketches of the Indian tribes with a table,
compiled by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in October,
1866, giving the superintendencies, agencies, names of
tribes and their population, of all the Indians in the United
States up to that date.

316

UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Table shewing the population of the various Indian tribes, by super-
tntendencies, as corrected by the reports of 1866.

SUPERINTENDENCE AMD
AGENCY.

WASHINGTON.

Tulalip

Skokomish

Makah

Puyallup

Quinaelt

Yakama

Fort Colville

Uin.it ilia

Warm Spring .
Grande Ronde ,

Alsea

Siletz

Klamath ......

Round Valley. ..
Eoopa Valley. .

Smith River

Tule River

Mission Indians

Papagos

River Tribes.

NEVADA.
Carson City

UTAH.
Fort Bridger

Uintah Valley

Tulalips, Lummis, etc

Sklallams, etc

Makahs, etc . ,

Puyallups, Nisquallies, etc

Quinaelts, Quillehutes, etc

Yakamas, etc

Spokanes, Colvilles, Pend d'Oreilles, etc.

Walla- Wallas, Cayuses, and Umatillas

Wacoes, Deschutes, etc

Fifteen tribes and bands

Gooses, Umpquas, etc

Fourteen tribes and bands

Klamaths, Modocs, and four bands of Snakes.
Other Indians

Pitt Rivers, Wylackies, Ukies, etc.

Various bands

Humboldt and Wylackies

Owens River and Tule River

Various bands

Coahuil las and other tribes

King River and other bands

Papagos 5,000, Pimas and Maricopas, 7,500.

Yuhmas, Mohaves, etc

Apaches

Moquis

Pi-Utes ....
Washoes . . .
Bannacks . .
Shoshonees

Eastern Shoshones and Bannacks

North-western Shoshones

Western Shoshones

Goships and Weber Utes

Utahs

Piedes ,.

Pah-Utes .:

19,800

TABLE.

317

SUPEEINTENDENOY AND
AGENCY.

TRIBES.

Popula-
tion.

NEW MEXICO.

Navajoes at reservation

6,500

1,200

7,010

850

Webinoche Utes

700

Cimarron

Maquache Utes

600
800

Mescalero Apache

Mescalero Apaches
Mimbres Apaches

550
200

2,000

COLORADO.

Grand River and Uintah Utes

19,901
2,500

2,500

DAKOTA.

5,000
2,530

980

Upper Missouri Sioux

1.200

2,100

Two Kettles

1,200

Blackfeet

1,820

2,220

1,800

2,100

2,400

1,680

1,500

400

400

2,640

IDAHO.

24,470
2,830

2,000

500

2,000

MONTANA.

7,330
658

Upper Pend d'Oreilles

918

287

Blackfeet

2,450

1,870

2,150

1,500

3,900

NORTHERN.

Winnebago

Winnebagoes

13,633

1,750
997

Ottoe

611

Pawnee

Pawnees

2,750
102

803

318

UPPEE MISSISSIPPI.

SUPKRINTENDKNCY AND
AGBNCT.

TRIBES.

NORTHERN (continued).
Upper Platte

Santee Sioux (Niobrara) . . .

Brule and Ogalallah Sioux

Cheyennes

Arapahoes ,

Santee Sioux

Potowatomie .
Sac and Fox.

Osage Biver .

Potowatomies

Sacs and Foxes of Mississippi.

Chippeways and Munsees

Mia

Shawnee

Delaware

Kansas

Kickapoo

Ottawa

Kinwa and Comanche
Arapahoe, Cheyenne, and
Apache

Peorias, Piankeshaws, Kaskaskias, and Weas.

Shawnees

Delawares

Kansas or Kaws

Kickapoos

Ottawas

Kiowas and Comancheg

Arapahoes, Cheyennes, and Apaches

SOUTHERN.

Creek

Cherokee

Choctaw and Chickasaw.

Seminole
Neosho . .

Creeks

Cherokeea

Choctaws

Chickasaws

Seminoles

Wichitas

Osagea

Quapawa'

Senecas and Shawnees.

Senecas

Wichitas

Keechies

Wacoes

Tawacairoes

Caddoes and lonies .

Shawnees.

Delawares

Other Indians

INDEPENDENT AGENCIES.

Green Bay .

Stockbridges and Munsees.

Oneidas

Menominies

Chippeways of Mississippi .

Chippeways of LTce Superior

Mississippi bands

Pillager and Winnebagoshish bands.

Red Lake bands

Pembina bands

Various bands ,

TABLE.

319

SCPERINTENDBNCY AND
AGENCY.

TRIBES.

Popula-
tion.

INDEPENDENT AGENCIES

(continued).

700

cousin |
Mackinac

Potowatomies

650
1,850
1 058

5 207

1 562

Chippeways, Ottawas, and Potowatomies

232

Potowatomies of Huron

46

New York

8,105
1 386

150

Onondagas with Senecas

138

845

529

360

184

96

Onondagas

325

4,013

Total

295 774

CHAPTER XV.

THE STATES OP OHIO, INDIANA, ILLINOIS, AND MICHIGAN.

OHIO.

THIS word, in French orthography, is the Iroquois name of
the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, and the French used as an
equivalent word, " la belle," or the beautiful." According
to French and Iroquois pronounciation, the i has the sound
of e long. The word does not include " river," and might
have been Oheao, or duck, in the Cayuga dialect, and thus
originally been called by that band, Oheao kihade, or Duck
river.

The name of the first white man who discovered the
State of Ohio is not known, but it was probably the Jesuit
missionary who, it is said, visited the Eries, or neutral
nation, from Lake Huron, in 1616. La Salle sailed along
its shore m 1679; a party of English visited Detroit in
1686, and Captain De Vincennes, of Canada, was ordered
to establish a military post among the Miamies in 1697, and
passed up the Maumee river.

After the establishment of a military post at Detroit in
1701, trading posts are often mentioned by French docu-
ments at Maumee and Sandusky ; and " Sandusky," and
"Miamies on Maumee," are enumerated in an English
pamphlet, printed in 1755, as old French military posts.
They were surrendered to the English in the transfer of
Canada. The fort at Sandusky was captured by Pontiac,
May 16th, 1763; but was returned to the English after the

OHIO. 323

close of that war. The French also, in 1755, had a trading
post at the mouth of the Sciota, according to the London
pamphlet, which was spoken of also in Post's journal. In
April, 1794, the British built a fort at Maumee rapids, and
General Wayne, in August of the same year, built Fort
Defiance at Grand Glaize.

After the close of the war of the revolution, the United
States took military possession of the Ohio valley ; and in
1785 Major Doughty built Fort Harmer, at Marietta, and
Major Finny, the same year, built Fort Finny, at the mouth
of the Miami river.

The primitive soil of Connecticut affording but poor en-
couragement to their agriculturalists, a plan was originated
there in March, 1786, to plant a colony on the rich banks of
the Ohio, and a subscription was begun to raise funds to
purchase a large tract of land for a New England colony.
The subscribers to this fund met March 8th, 1787, and
elected General Parsons, General Rufus Putnam, and Rev.
Manasseh Cutler, as directors of the colony, which they
called the Ohio Company. On the 5th of July following,
Dr. Cutler was sent to New York to negotiate with Con-
gress, then in session, for the purchase of a tract of land on
the Ohio, for the settlement. After a large number of
" mano3uvres," in the classic language of the Puritan divine,
but in the more descriptive language of the west, " of log
rolling and bribery," a favorable contract was made, July
27th, and a plan was arranged for the political organization
of the north-west. This happy result was chronicled in
the Rev. Doctor's journal as follows : " By this ordinance
we obtained the grant of near 5,000,000 acres of land,
amounting $3,500,000; 1,500,000 acres for the Ohio Com-
pany, and the remainder for a private speculation, in which
many of the principal characters of America are concerned.
Without connecting this speculation, similar terms and
advantages could not have been obtained for the Ohio
Company." With this ordinance, Dr. Cutler closed his
21

824 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

contract with the Board of Treasury, October 27th, 1788.
By referring to dates, it will be observed that, July 1 3th,
1787, the " Ordinance for the government of the Territory
of the United States north-west of the River Ohio" was
passed by Congress ; and as Dr. Cutler had the names of
all the officers of the new territory " in his hat," he, July
23rd, found himself in a tight place ; and here again, in his
journal, he tells how he escaped this crisis in his affairs :
" Having found it impossible to support General Parsons as
a candidate for governor, after the interest that General
Arthur St. Clair had secured, I embraced this opportunity
to declare, that if General Parsons could have the appoint-
ment of first judge, and Sargent secretary, we should be
satisfied ; and that I heartily wished his excellency General
St. Clair might be the governor ; and that I would solicit
the eastern members in his favor. This I found rather
pleasing to southern members." Among the arguments
which he tells us in his journal he urged with effect, were
the following : " The uneasiness of the Kentucky people
with respect to the Mississippi was notorious. A revolt of
that country from the Union, if a war with Spain took place,
was universally acknowledged to be highly probable ; and
most certainly a systematic settlement in that country, con-
ducted by men thoroughly attached to the federal govern-
ment, and composed of young, robust, and hardy laborers,
who had no idea of any other than the Federal government,
I conceived to be an object worthy of some attention."

The tract of land which was thus secured was located on
the north side of the Ohio, and extending from the Sciota
river east, to the seventh range of townships ; but as poli-
ticians did not meet their part of the engagement when
money was required, and even the Ohio Company got short
of funds, the tract was cut down in 1792 so as to only
include the country between the seventh and tenth ranges
of townships, and extending from the Ohio river north so as
to include 750,000 acres, besides reservations. For this tract

OHIO. 325

the Ohio Company was to pay one dollar per acre, deduct-
ing one-third of the whole tract for waste land.

Pursuant to this plan for a colony, General Rufus Putnam,
as superintendent, set out with forty-seven emigrants, soon
after the 1st of January, 1788, and reached the site of
Marietta April 7th of that year, having traveled by way of
Cumberland, Maryland.

Governor St. Clair received his appointment as governor
October 5th, 1787, and reached Marietta July 9th of the
following year ; and on the 27th of July, by proclamation,
organized the new county of Washington. The second
county, Hamilton, including the new settlement at Cincin-
nati, was not organized until January 2nd, 1790. Cincinnati
was made a town January 2nd, 1802, and a city by charter
in 1819. Notwithstanding the Indian war, settlers continued
to flock to the north side of the Ohio, of which many came
from Kentucky; and in 1800, Congress set off the Indian
territory.

By an Act of Congress, passed April 30th, 1802, Ohio
was permitted to call a convention to form a State constitu-
tion. The constitution was adopted, in convention, Novem-
ber 29th, 1802, and Ohio became a member of the Union
February 19th of the following year.

By the census of 1800, Ohio was found to contain 45,365
inhabitants. From this time the increase was rapid, and it
contained, in 1810, 230,760; 1820, 581,295; 1830, 937,903;
1840, 1,519,467; 1850, 1,980,329; and in 1860, 2,339,502.
From a comparison with the population of other States, it
appears that Ohio became the third State in the Union in
1840, in population, which position it held in 1860, New
York and Pennsylvania only exceeding it.

For educational purposes, Congress has donated to the
State 675,094 acres for public schools, and 24,320 acres for
colleges. In 1863, the permanent school fund amounted to
$2,879,379, yielding an annual interest of $173,712. In

326 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

addition to this, there was raised by State taxes for school
purposes, $1,155,221 ; and by local taxes, $1,021,012.

In 1857, 838,037 children between the ages of five and
twenty-one were enumerated, of which the average daily
attendance at school was 350,867. In 1862, the enumera-
tion was 920,820; and average daily attendance at school,
433,343.

In 1862 there were common schools, 14,728; high
schools, 144; German and English schools, 108; and
colored schools, 172; total, 15,152. The same year there
were employed 10,459 male, and 10,931 female teachers;
total, 21,390.

Ohio has also the following State institutions ; four Insane
Asylums, a Reform School, Institution for the Education
of the Blind, Institution for Deaf and Dumb, Asylum for
Idiotic and Imbecile Youth, and State Penitentiary.

In November, 1863, Ohio had twenty-four colleges and
universities, which belonged as follows : three to the State,
one to the Presbyterians, new school, one to the Presbyte-
rians, old school, two to Presbyterians and Congregational-
ists, one to the Episcopalians, one to the Baptists, one to
the Congregationalists, three to the Catholics, four to the
Methodist Episcopal Church, two to Methodists, two to
Evangelical Lutherans, one New Jerusalem church, one,
Christian, and one United Brethren in Christ. The aggre-
gate number of students in all the institutions, was about
3,300.

The newspaper, according to modern civilization, travels
with the emigrant ; hence we find, as early as July 29, 1786,
the " Pittsburg Gazette," christened as the first child in that
family in the upper Mississippi valley. With no violation
of the course of nature, the second child in that family was
christened the " Kentucky Gazette," at Lexington, in August,
1789 ; while " The Sentinel of the North-western Territory,"
at Cincinnati, November 9, 1793, which was changed to
"Freeman's Journal" in 1796; and the "Western Spy and

INDIANA. 327

Hamilton Gazette," also at Cincinnati, of May 28, 1799; all
succeeding each other in the period of nearly three years ;
these certainly established their right to the name of " peri-
odical literature."

This good name must not have been lost, for in Ohio
alone, in 1810, we find there were fourteen weekly papers;
while in 1828 the number had increased to sixty-six.

The census of 1840 gave them 9 daily, 107 weekly, 7
semi-weekly papers, and 20 periodicals ; total, 143. In
1850, Ohio had 26 dailies, with the annual circulation of
14,285,633; 10 tri-weeklies, with a circulation of 1,047,930;
201 weeklies, with a circulation of 13,334,204. They
had also 23 semi-monthly, with an annual circulation of
1,781,640; 1 monthly, with circulation of 24,000; total, 261.
Total number of copies printed annually, 30,473,407.

In 1860 the census report shows: Political, 22 daily, 4
bi-weekly, 8 tri-weekly, 219 weekly, and 3 monthly; total,
256. Religious, 27 weekly, 8 monthly, 2 annually; total, 37 ;
Literary, 1 daily, 6 weekly, 17 monthly; total, 24. Miscel-
laneous, 1 daily, 8 weekly, 13 monthly, 1 annual; total, 23.

The total number of copies circulated annually, was
71,767,742.

INDIANA.

The Rev. Father James Marquette, and his party, were
probably the first white persons who visited any part of the
territory of Indiana.

Returning from the newly-established mission of " the
Immaculate Conception," among the Kaskaskias, Father
Marquette passed up the Kankakee, across the portage, and
down the St. Joseph's river to Lake Michigan, about the
first of May, 1675; but died on the 17th day of the same
month, before he reached Mackinaw, of chronic diarrhoaa, a
disease he contracted two years previous, while exploring
the Mississippi.

The second party of white persons who visited Indiana,

328 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

was that of La Salle, which passed down the Kankakee
river in December, 1679, on their way to explore the Missis-
sippi.

In 1697, Captain De Vincennes was ordered by the
Governor of Canada, with a small military force, to the
Miamies on the Wabash, who established post Vincennes.
He was popular among the Miamies, and remained the most
of the time until his death there in 1719. His post was
called Fort Vincennes after 1720, and was continued a
trading-post as long as the Indians remained in the country.

By the act of Congress of July 13, 1787, Indiana was
included in the territory north-west of the Ohio, but was
made a separate territory May 7, 1800. In April, 1816,
Congress passed an act authorizing Indiana to form a State
government. On the 29th of June, of the same year, the
people adopted a State constitution, and December 11, 1816,
the State of Indiana was admitted into the Union of States.

While Indiana was an Indian territory, Congress, by an
act approved March 26, 1804, established three land offices
in the territory : one at Detroit, one at Vincennes, and one
at Kaskaskia.

For the disposal of the lands along the Ohio river, between
Vincennes and Cincinnati districts, a new land office was
established at Jeffersonville by the act of the 3rd of March,
1807. By the act of the 3rd of March, 1819, additional land
offices were established at Brookville and Terre Haute ; and
by the act of May 8, 1822, an additional office was estab-
lished at Fort Wayne. By the act of March 2, 1833, another
land office was established at La Porte, which in December,
1839, was removed to Winamac.

By the act of 1816, authorizing Indiana to form a consti-
tution for a State government, Congress gave the new State
the sixteenth section in each township for schools ; all the
salt springs, including the lands not exceeding thirty-six
sections ; five per cent, of the net proceeds of the sales of
the public lands lying in said State ; two townships of land

INDIANA. 329

for a seminary of learning ; and four sections of land as a
site for the seat of government.

By the census of 1840, Indiana was reported as then
having 1,521 primary schools, with 48,189 scholars; 54
academies, with 2,946 scholars ; and 4 colleges and univer-
sities, with 322 students. In 1850 the school fund was
estimated at $3,628,215. There were, in 1851, 5,899 schools,
and 225,318 scholars. In 1850, Indiana was reported by
the census as having 4 colleges, with 295 students; 1 theo-
logical school, with 15 students; 2 medical schools, with 154
students; and 2 law schools, with 18 students.

In 1862, the common school fund was estimated at the
value of $4,991,202. The wThole number of children between
five and twenty-one years, was 528,583; school districts,
7,921 ; number of schools taught, 5,995 ; number of high
schools, 103; number of pupils attending primary schools,
273,450 ; number attending high schools, 7,318; number of
private schools, 1,932 ; number of pupils attending private
schools, 39,658.

The Hospital for the Blind, Institution for the Educa-
tion of the Deaf and Dumb, and the Hospital for the
Insane, all at Indianapolis, are flourishing institutions.
In 1863, Indiana had thirteen colleges and universities,
which belonged as follows : One to the State, two to the
Presbyterians, four to the Methodists, two to the Baptists,
one to the United Brethren in Christ, one to the Evangelical
Lutherans, one to the Catholics, and one to the Christians,
with an aggregate of 1,810 students. The Catholics and
Lutherans had each a Theological School.

The population of 1800, which included Detroit, Kas-
kaskia, Prairie Du Chien, Green Bay and Mackinaw, and
all the Indian territory, was enumerated in the census at
4,875. The census of 1810 gave a population of 24,520 for
Indiana, without including Illinois or Michigan, as those
regions had previously been set into new territories. In
21*

330 UPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

1820 there were 147,178; 1830, 343,031; 1840, 685,866;
1850, 988,416 ; and 1860, 1,350,428.

In 1810, Indiana had one weekly newspaper, which circu-
lated during the year 15,600 copies. In 1828, the number
had increased to 17. By the census of 1840, there were 4
semi-weekly, 69 weekly, and 3 periodical papers.

The census of 1850 shows that the number had increased
to 9 daily, 2 tri-weekly, 95 weekly, and 1 semi-monthly ;
total, 107, with a total annual circulation of 4,316,828
copies. These papers were classified as 21 literary, 84
political, and 2 religious.

In 1860, Indiana had the following papers : Political,
13 daily, 5 bi-weekly, 154 weekly; total, 172. Religious, 3
weekly, and 3 monthly ; total, 6. Literary, 3 weekly, 2
monthly ; total, 5. Miscellaneous, 3 monthly. The aggre-
gate circulation of these papers, per annum, was 10,090,310.

We have seen that Sieur Joliette, with Marquette, were
the first to explore Illinois, by passing down the Mississippi
in June, 1673, and returning north by the Illinois river and
Lake Michigan.

Agreeably to a promise made to the Kaskaskia Indians,
Marquette started from Green Bay, October 25, 1674, to
return and establish a mission amongst them, but was
detained by sickness during the winter at Chicago, and only
succeeded in reaching the Kaskaskias, on the Illinois river,
April 8, 1675. Here his stay was short, as he continued to
grow weaker ; and he died on his way to Mackinaw, May
17th, of the same year.

The Rev. Father Allouez, the honored founder of the
Wisconsin missions, left Green Bay in October, 1676, to
renew the mission at Illinois, but winter setting in earlier
than expected, he only reached the Kaskaskias April 27, of
the following year.

Here he found congregated eight tribes, of whom he

ILLINOIS. 331

baptized thirty-five children and a sick adult. He continued
in charge of this mission until near the time of the arrival
of La Salle, when he retired to Green Bay, fearing the hos-
tility of La Salle to the Jesuits. La Salle and. his party
descended the Kankakee river from St. Joseph's, and
reached, the site of the Indian village on the Illinois at the
"Rock," near the close of December, 1679; but as the
Indians were further down the river, he, January 1, pushed
on, and on the 4th day of that month, found the tribe at the
head of Pimiteoui, "or lake of plenty of fat beasts," since
called Lake Peoria, where he built Fort Crevecceur, or
" heart-breaking," so named on account of their many dis-
appointments.

Rev. Father St. Cosme, who passed down the Illinois
river in 1699, spoke of an "old fort," built by La Salle, at
the upper village of the Indians, on a " rock which is on the
bank of the river, about a hundred feet high," which La
Salle " abandoned." If so, La Salle might have built a
temporary fort during the few days that he- remained at the
deserted Indian village, but there is no mention of it by his
historian.

Fort Cr^vecceur was made the head-quarters of the
French missions for many years. About 1700 the Kaskas-
kias removed down, and settled at the mouth of Kaskaskia
river, with their missionaries, leaving the Peorias at the
lake. About 1722, the Peorias and other bands, at the Rock
and Peoria lake, being pressed hard in their wars with the
Foxes and their allies, also settled on the Mississippi near
the Kaskaskias. The congregating of so many Indians
near the mouth of the Kaskaskia river, induced the French
to build a strong fort a few miles above the mouth of that
river, in 1720, which they called Fort Chartres. This fort
was strongly built of stone masonry. In the article for its
surrender in 1765, it was described as eighteen feet high,
and 334^ toises in circumference. The south side, fronting
the Mississippi, was 80^ toises. The fort was pierced with

332 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

204 loop-holes. Besides the fort, there were the guard-
house, government house, intendant's house, barracks,
powder-house, bake-house, prison, and store, all built with
Btone, with " windows in cut stone, with shutters, < iron-
work," etc.

Fort Chartres was the center of French power and mis-
sionary labors on the upper Mississippi, until the surrender
of Canada to the English in 1760. The fort was finally
surrendered to the English, October 10, 1765, and it was
held by them until it was partly undermined by the river
about 1771, and abandoned by the English. The English
had another fort above Kaskaskia, which Colonel Clark
captured July 4, 1778; after which the French settlements
at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, near the Mississippi, became a
part of Virginia, and that State, in October of the same
year, organized the country north-west of the Ohio into the
county of Illinois. Thus continued the political affairs of the
north-west, until the passage of "An ordinance for the gov-
ernment of the territory of the United States north-west of
the river Ohio," July 13, 1787. May 7, 1800, Illinois was
included with Indiana, and the territory north, in the
"Indian Territory." In 1809, Illinois was made a separate
territory, and August 26, 1818, formed a constitution, and
December 3rd, of the same year, was admitted into the
Union by a special act of Congress.

After the close of the revolutionary war, American emi-
grants occasionally passed the Ohio to the Indian territory,
and in 1810 Illinois numbered 12,282, including the old
French villages. In 1820 they had increased to 55,162,
including 917 slaves. In 1830, 157,445; 1840, 476,183;
1850, 851,470; 1860, 1,711,951. The first American settlers
were mainly from the slave-holding States, and many
brought with them their negro slaves, notwithstanding the
prohibition in the ordinance of 1787. These slaves num-
bered 331 in the census of 1840, but disappear before that
of 1850. These settlers generally remained in the south

ILLINOIS. 335

part of the State. After the Black Hawk war in 1832,
emigration commenced entering the State by way of the
lakes, and in 1837 the great tide was setting in heavily, and
soon overspread the great prairies of the north.

By the act authorizing Illinois to form a State constitu-
tion, Congress donated to the State, for school purposes, the
sixteenth section in each township, and three per cent, of
the net proceeds of the sales of the public lands in the State
after 1819; and for a seminary of learning, two entire town-
ships, or seventy-two sections of land. In 1850, the perma-
nent school fund amounted to $790,120 ; the Seminary fund,
$58,788 ; and the State University fund, $90,889. Illinois
has an excellent system for public education. In addition
to her public State institutions, individual enterprise and
benevolence have given her several excellent academies and
colleges.

In 1862, there were in Illinois, 9,811 public schools, and
516,037 scholars attending those schools; 720 private
schools, and 22,577 scholars. In 1864, Illinois had fifteen
colleges and universities, three of which belonged to the
State, four to the Methodists, two to the Baptists, one to the
Presbyterians, new school, one to the Catholics, one to the
United Presbyterians, one to the Presbyterians and Congre-
gationalists, one to the Evangelical Lutherans, and one to
the Universalists. These, in the aggregate, had 2,203
students. One of the most prosperous of these institutions
is the University of Chicago, founded by the late Senator
S. A. Douglas, in 1855, and now belonging to the Baptist
denomination.

In 1862, the entire educational funds belonging to the
State were $4,973,842, the interest of which, with the annual
taxes levied, are expended for the different educational
institutions belonging to the State.

Newspapers were not a very early institution in Illinois,
as there were none in 1810, and but four weekly papers in
1828. In 1840, there were three dailies, two semi-weeklies,

336 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

thirty-eight weeklies, and nine called " periodicals." In
1850, the number had increased to eight daily, four tri-
weekly, eighty-four weekly, three semi-monthly, seven
monthly, and one quarterly, with an aggregate circulation
of 5,102,2-76 per annum. In 1860, the census showed,
political papers : twenty-three daily, one bi-weekly, six tri-
weekly, two hundred and twenty-eight weekly, and one
monthly. Of religious papers, there were five weekly and
six monthly. Literary, three weekly and five monthly ; and
miscellaneous, one bi-weekly, two weekly, and five monthly,
with an aggregate circulation per annum of 27,464,764.

MICHIGAN.

The name of this State is abbreviated from two Chippeway
words, Michau, or Misho, great, and Sakiegan, a lake, and
literally means the great lake. The territory of this State
was probably first visited by Sir Jean Nicolet, the Canadian
interpreter, who appears to have visited the Winnebagoes
at Green Bay in 1639. Rev. Fathers Joques and Raymbaut,
Jesuit missionaries, next appear to have passed along the
north shore of lake Huron, and visited the falls of St. Mary
in 1641, where Rev. Fathers Dablon and Marquette estab-
lished a missionary station in 1669, which must be regarded
as the first permanent settlement of the State ; leaving Wis-
consin as the older State in point of settlement by four
years. Mackinaw was made a missionary station by Mar-
quette, in 1671, and the Canadian government raised it to a
military post in 1688, and built a fort. In the mean time
the Detroit, or straits between Lakes Huron and Erie, had
been explored by Indian traders ; and La Salle sailed from
Niagara to Green Bay in the " Griffin," in 1679; and in
1687 the Canadian government built Fort St. Joseph, or De
Lut, at the foot of Lake Huron, in Michigan ; La Durantaye,
in the name of the French king, having taken formal pos-
session of all the east coast of the State June 7th of the
same year.

MICHIGAN. 337

La Salle, in November, 1679, built Fort La Salle, at the
mouth of a river in the south-western part of the State,
which was afterwards changed, probably by Allouez, the
missionary at that point, to St. Joseph's.

Fort Pontchartrain was built by the Canadian govern-
ment in 1701, at the present site of the city of Detroit,
which laid the foundation of that enterprising city of the
west. This point thus became the head quarters of the
Indian trade in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, and for many
years following. Its history has been given in the Indian
wars in previous chapters.

By an Act of Congress, approved January llth, 1805, all
that part of the then .Indian territory lying north of a line
running east from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan,
was organized with a territorial government under the name
of "Michigan Territory." By an Act in 1818, the present
territory of Wisconsin was attached to Michigan, and
remained so attached until 1836, when it was also organized
into a territorial government.

Without any enabling Act of Congress, the territory of
Michigan held a convention and formed a State constitution,
but its admission was long opposed in Congress ; and they
were finally compelled to surrender a part of their territory
on the south, and in lieu thereof take the upper or Lake
Superior peninsula ; and after so amending their constitu-
tion, they were admitted as a State by an Act of Congress,
approved January 26th, 1837.

.The new State received from Congress the grant of
seventy-two sections, or square miles of land, as an endow-
ment of a university ; the sixteenth section in each six miles
square for the support of common schools.

In 1850 Michigan had 3,097 common schools, and 132,233
children between the ages of four and eighteen which
attended school during the year. Besides these, there were
2,056 under four, and 8,346 over eighteen, which attended
school. The public money, or interest of the school fund,
22

338 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

that year distributed was $42,794.44 ; in addition to which,
there were raised by tax to pay teachers, $81,392.44. To
this, if we add funds raised to build school-houses, library
funds, etc., we have a total paid out for schools during the
year of $194,330.78.

In 1855 the number of scholars attending school were
142,307 ; and the number of teachers, 1,600 male, and 3,474
female. In 1860, the total number of scholars over four
and under eighteen years of age were 240,684 ; number of
scholars attending school, 192,937; number of teachers
2,599 male, and 5,344 female.

In 1862 the whole number of children over five and under
twenty years of age were 261,323; number attending
school, 207,332, with 2,380 male teachers and 5,958 female.

The State Normal School, at Ypsilanti, was opened for
students in April, 1853, and in 1862 had 407 students in the
normal department, and 86 in the model school. Students
pledge themselves to teach in the State schools after they
graduate.

The University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, was opened
in 1837, and their endowment funds from the seventy-two
sections granted by Congress amounted in 1862 to $525,000,
from the interest of which the University is mainly sup-
ported. A medical department was added in 1850, and a
law department in 1859. It has also a fine astronomical
department. In 1862 the University had, in the depart-
ment of literature, 270 students ; department of medicine,
216; and department of law, 129.

In 1857 Michigan founded a " State Agricultural Col-
lege," at Lansing, and has now assigned to it the land
granted by Congress to agricultural colleges. It has a farm
of seven hundred acres, together with a fine laboratory,
library, museum, etc. Students are required to labor on
the farm three hours daily.

Besides these, there are the " State Reform School," at
Lansing ; the " Michigan Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb

MICHIGAN. 339

and Blind," at Flint ; the " Asylum for the Insane," at
Kalamazoo ; and State Prison, at Jackson. All these insti-
tutions are doing a good work in their several departments
of education and discipline. In addition to these State
institutions, there are many private schools and academies,
supported by private benevolence, and three colleges, viz. :
Kalamazoo College, founded in 1833 by the Baptists; Hills-
dale College, founded in 1853 by the Freewill Baptists; and
the Albion College, founded in 1862 by the Methodist Epis-
copal church, having for several years previous been an
academy. All these are owned by the denominations
founding them.

The population of Michigan has been steadily progressive.
There were, in 1810, 4,762; 1820, 8,765; 1830, 31,639;
1840, 212,267; 1850; 397,654; and 1860, 749,113.

Newspapers were a luxury in which Michigan did not
early indulge. None had greeted them in 1810; and but
two in 1828. The writer has not the date of the first paper,
but the " Detroit Gazette" was being published as early at
least as May, 1819. In 1840 they could boast of having 6
daily, 26 weekly, and 1 magazine. In 1850 the census gave
the State 3 daily, 2 tri-weekly, 47 weekly, 3 semi-monthly,
and 3 monthly publications; total 58, with an aggregate
circulation for the year of 3,247,736.

In 1860, the papers had increased to : Political, 8 daily,
3 bi-weekly, 1 tri-weekly, 96 weekly, 1 monthly; total, 109.
Religious, 3 weekly, 1 monthly; total, 4. Literary, 3
weekly. Miscellaneous, 1 weekly and 1 monthly. The
aggregate circulation per annum was 11,606,596.

CHAPTER XVI.

WISCONSIN.

IN writing of the introduction of civilization into the north-
west, we have no fables to relate to prepossess the minds
of a credulous generation, that our country has been spe-
cially favored by Deity ; but, like the French commandant
at Detroit, when attacked by the Indians, we don't " know
on what Saint to call," and when driven to the necessity of
making a selection, we are perfectly at liberty to take St.
George of England, St. Andrew of Scotland, St. Patrick of
Ireland, or St. Xavier of Japan, with full assurance that
either of them will be equally serviceable to us in our
necessities.

But if the day of Saints had passed away at the time of
the advent of the whites to our shores, the day of imposi-
tion had not, and if the reader had been standing on the
Moke-kaw-sfioots-raw^ or red earth banks of Green Bay,
in the summer of 1639, there might probably have been
seen advancing, in a pompous procession of Hurons and
O-chunk-o-raws, a Frenchman, dressed in a long, full robe
of china damask, covered over with flowers and birds of
all colors, and carrying a pistol in each hand. To the
reader, such a pompous display of brilliant colors would
have excited only a smile of contempt; but not so with the
untutored savage. The timid Enog-ga-raw, and her little
flock of Nlnk-si)ig-in-yraws, screamed, " Wau-kon-ga-raw /"
or the " spirit man," and fled to the shelter of their wig-

WISCONSIN. 341

warns, while the dusky warrior, whose courage of a hundred
battles, welling up in his soul until it sparkled in his brilliant
eyes, with his hands firmly grasping his bow and tomahawk,
looked on with profound silence.

The message delivered was " Peace " — a fit message to
be always borne by civilization. Peace between the great
Huron, Iroquois and Algonquin nations. Perhaps the
reader imagines this message was received by the old war-
riors with scorn and contempt, but they mistake even the
Indian character. It was received with great joy. The
news spread through the surrounding country, and soon
after, an assembly of 4,000 or 5,000 of diiferent nations
came together, and great feasts were given by the chiefs,
one of which served up six score beaver at a single banquet.
Here were the 0-chunk-o-raws, " sedentary and very
numerous ; " the proud Illinois, or " The Men ; " the bold
and warlike Dakotas, or the confederates ; and the wander-
ing Potowatomies, a stray band of Algonquins ; all rejoicing
with the Frenchman, at the temporary peace among a por-
tion of the tribes that lived along the great lakes, foolishly
thinking that a peace proclaimed by such a wonderful man
would be permanent, and that thereafter their slumbers
would not be broken by the murderous tomahawk. But
this delusion was nearly fatal to the O-chunk-o-raws, who
were nearly exterminated the following year by the Illinois,
and bTit two years after, the Potowatomies fled to Lake
Superior, from the victorious Dakotas.

War is generated among barbarous nations precisely as
among civilized. Aggressions are committed by a few
malicious and discontented persons; retaliation follows,
when the war cry is raised", and but few have the moral
power to resist its potent influence. Blood flows freely
until the original instigators are destroyed; or the people
become satiated with revenge. Chiistianity is the only
power that can be brought to oppose war ; but, alas ! this

342 UPPKE MISSISSIPPI.

has often proved too weak to calm the baser passions of our
human natures.

The Frenchman whom I have introduced was Sieur Jean
Nicolet, the Huron and Algonquin interpreter for the gov-
ernment of Canada. The governor of that colony, having
heard of the " Gens de Mer" whom the Algonquins called
~Winnebagoue, or men of the Salt water, conceived the idea
of exploring their country, and dispatched Sieur Nicolet for
that purpose. He passed to the Hurons, took seven of that
tribe as an escort, and coasted Lake Huron to the Winne-
bagoes, on the Green Bay. Here he concluded a treaty of
peace with several tribes, and on his return, having reported
" that had he sailed three days more on a great river which
flows from that lake (Green Bay) he would have found the
sea," it has been inferred that he reached the Wisconsin
river, and was the first Frenchman that floated on the
waters of the upper Mississippi.

The exact time of this exploration is not given in the
Jesuit records; but, having been first spoken of in their
Relations for 1639 and 1640, it is believed that it took place
the former year.

Sieur Nicolet continued in the service of the Canadian
government until October 31st, 1642, when he was capsized
in a storm, near Quebec, and drowned. Thus perished
the discoverer of Wisconsin, leaving but a paragraph of
history.

Soon after Sieur Nicolet visited Green Bay, the Iroquois
renewed their war against the western tribes, and the writer
finds no record of any other white person having visited
Wisconsin until the winter of 1659-60, when two French-
men, probably from Kewenaw bay, Lake Superior, visited
the Tionontaties, on the head waters of Black river, " six
days' journey towards the south-west;" and again, in the
spring of 1661, Father Ren£ Menard, a Jesuit missionary,
dispatched three Frenchmen from St. Theresa bay (probably

WISCONSIN. 343

Kewenaw bay,) who found the " poor tribe of Hurons" far
down the Black river, nearly in a state of starvation.

Finally, the good Father Menard, aged and infirm, with
his lay assistant, Jean Guerin, left St. Theresa bay, June
13th, 1661, to visit the poor nation of Hurons far down the
Black river, — lost his way in passing the portage, probably
at Black River falls, August 10th, 1661, and perished in the
woods.

After the death of Father Menard, his lay assistant, Jean
Guerin, returned to St. Theresa bay, Lake Superior, and
continued his missionary labors until October, 1662, when
he was accidentally killed by the discharge of a gun.

But these misfortunes only quickened the missionary
spirit of the zealojis Jesuits, and, August 8th, 1665, found
Father Claude Attouez embarking at " Three Rivers,"
Canada, with six Frenchmen and four hundred returning
savages for Lake Superior.

The long, serpent-like flotilla of bark canoes slowly passed
up the Ottawa river, in^Canada, coursed the north shore of
Lake Huron, passed the Falls of St. Mary, danced over the
boisterous waves of the south shore of Lake Superior ; and
finally the tiny fleet was safely moored on the sandy beach
of the main land, at the foot of what the Indians called
" Chagouamigong" bay, in Wisconsin, October 1st, 1665.
Here the pious Father established the mission of " The Holy
Ghost," erected a chapel and cabins, and entered upon his
great work ; while his no less industrious French associates
opened their little shops of Indian trinkets, and bartered for
furs with the dusky natives.

But the good Father and his little party were unconsci-
ously doing a still greater work. They were commencing
the first settlement, and laying the foundations of the
present flourishing, Christian, and commercial State of Wis-
consin. This proved a very important post to the French
until the spring of 1671, when they and their Indian allies

344 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

were driven out by the brave Dakotas, on whose territory
they were trespassers.

For a few years the Dakotas held undisturbed possession
of the shore of Lake Superior; but, in 1679, the adventurous
De Lut visited the south-west coast of that lake, made
peace with the Dakotas and Christinaux, and set up the
arms of the king of France at three distant points ; and in
June of 1680, with two canoes, one Indian, and four French-
men, passed up the St. Louis river, and down the Rum
river to the Mississippi, where he redeemed Father Henne-
pin from captivity, and conducted him to Mackinaw, by
the way of the Wisconsin river.

A military post was established at Chegouamigong Point,
under the charge of Lesueur, in 1692. From that time
to the present, it is believed that that point, or " La Point,"
on Madeline island, has been occupied by the white traders,
and most of the time as a military post.

At the close of the Iroquois war, in 1666, many of the
savages having left Chegouamigong bay, at Lake Superior,
and the Foxes, Sacs, Mascotens, Kickapoos and Potowa-
tomies, having returned to Green Bay and the Fox and
Wisconsin rivers, Father Allouez resolved to follow them,
and establish a church in that region. Consequently, on
the 3rd of November, 1669, we find the good Father setting
out from the Falls of St. Mary, Lake Superior, with two
companions, for Green Bay. As the Father said : " Two
canoes of Pouteouatqmis wishing to take me to their country,
not that I might instruct them, they having no disposition
to receive the faith, but to mollify some young Frenchmen,
who were among them for the purpose of trading, and who
threatened and ill-treated them." On the second day, " the
difficulties of the route, in consequence of the lateness of the
season," induced them to " have recourse to Saint Francis
Xavier, the patron of the mission," and on the fifth day they
were involved in snow, delayed six days by bad weather;
and finally he said : " The snow and frost menacing us with

WISCONSIN. 345

ice, my companions had recourse to Saint Anne, to whom we
recommended our voyage, praying her, with Saint Franyois
Xavier, to take us under their protection." On the eleventh,
near the Island of Mackinaw, they found two Frenchmen,
with Indians, on the main land, and doubled in safety the
cape south-west of that island. " Finally, after many diffi-
culties," said the Father, " our navigation came to a close
on the 2nd of December, the eve of the day of Saint Frangois
Xavier, by our arrival at the place where the Frenchmen
were, who aided us to celebrate the festival with all the
solemnity that was possible. The next day I celebrated the
holy mass, at which the Frenchmen, to the number of eight,
performed their devotions."

Here Father Allouez found one village of six hundred
souls, composed of " Ousaki, Pouteouatamis, Outagami,
and Ouenibigoutz," in which he soon commenced teaching,
and named it the " Mission of Saint Fra^ois Xavier." The
location of this Indian village was on Fox river, near the
bay.

For what length of time these six Frenchmen had occu-
pied the point as a trading post previous to the arrival of
the Jesuit Father, we have no intimation. They may have
come in the summer of 1666, immediately after the con-
clusion of the peace with the Iroquois ; but it is more
probable that they commenced trade at the bay in the
spring of 1669. But from the arrival of the Jesuit Fathers
its importance as a trading post was established, and from
that time may be dated its permanent settlement, thirty
years after it was first visited by Sieur Nicolet, the Canadian
interpreter.

From this date, the French appeared to make special
efforts to press westward missionaries and the trade in furs,
and finally, June 14th, 1671, at the Falls of St. Mary, in
presence of large numbers of the Bay and Lake Superior
savages, took solemn and formal " possession of the said
place of St. Mary of the Falls, as well as of Lakes Huron and
22*

346 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Superior, the Island of Caientolon, and all other countries,
rivers, lakes, and tributaries, contiguous and adjacent
thereto, as well discovered as to be discovered, which are
bounded on the one side by the northern and western seas,
and on the other side by the south sea, including all its
length or breadth ; in the name of the most high, most
mighty, and most redoubtable monarch Louis, the XIV.
of the Christian name, king of France and Navarre."

These imposing ceremonies were had under the personal
supervision of " Sieur De St. Lusson, commissioner sub-
delegate of my lord the intendant of New France, to search
for the copper mine . . . near Lake Superior;" and
were witnessed by the Rev. Fathers Dablon, Drouillets,
Allouez, and Andre, " all of the company of Jesus ; Sieur
Nicholas Perrot, his majesty's interpreter in these parts;"
Sieur Jollyet, and fourteen other Frenchmen.

The desire so often expressed to explore the Mississippi,
finally induced Comte De Frontenac, the Governor of
Canada, to appoint for that service Sieur Jollyet, a young
man born in Canada, and well acquainted with the Ottawa
language, having resided with them several years; and
assigned as his assistant Father James Marquette, of Mack-
inaw, who had fitted himself for the position by the study
of the language of the Illinois while in charge of the mission
of the Holy Ghost, at Lake Superior. The party, consisting
of the two named, with five Frenchmen, embarked in two
bark canoes from the mission of St. Ignatius, at Mackinaw,
on the 17th of May, 1673. They passed by way of Green
Bay and the Wisconsin portage, and reached the Mississippi
the 17th of June, precisely one month after they left Mack-
inaw. They descended the river to the " Akansea" tribe,
in about the 34° of latitude, and started on their return,
July 17th, by way of the Illinois river and Chicago, and
reached Green Bay the last of September.

The exact time at which a military post at Prairie Du
Chien was established, has been the subject of much specu-

WISCONSIN. 347

lation, some putting it as late as 1775, while it is stated in a
report of a committee in Congress to have occurred in 1755,
which was the year following the reconciliation of the
French and Sacs and Foxes. The latter date may be true,
as the French surrendered Canada to the English in 1760,
and the French made no pretensions to occupy the upper
Mississippi after the abandonment of their fort at Lake
Pepin, and the renewal of the Fox war in 1728 ; and in fact,
the French trade to the Mississippi was nearly ruined from
and after their barbarous massacre of the Foxes at Detroit
in 1712.

But there must have been a French fort at or near Prairie
Du Chien at a much earlier period. That it was at Prairie
Du Chien is more than probable, as that has always been a
point of general resort for the savages, arid the " Mound-
Builders" before them. The evidence of this early occupa-
tion is found in the document of the taking possession of
the Mississippi valley in the name of the French king, by
" Nicholas Perot, commanding for the king at the post of
the Nadoue Sioux," " at the post of St. Anthony, May 8th,
1689," to which documents, among other names of wit-
nesses, was " Monsr. De Borie-Guillot, commanding the
French in the neighborhood of Ouiskonche, on the Missis-
sippi."

Indeed, as early as 1686, the Governor of Canada, in his
dispatch to the king, speaks of having received letters
" from the upper Mississippi, where they propose wonders
to me, were I to establish posts for the missions, and for the
beavers which abound there." In reply, March 8, 1688, the
king ordered the governor to send men to formally take
possession of the country of the lakes and the Illinois, "in
order to render incontestable his majesty's right." From
these data, we may safely infer that the country about
Prairie Du Chien was occupied as a French post, at least as
early as the 20th of April, 1689, and possibly the previous
fall.

848 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

But if the country was occupied as early as 1689, it does
not follow that its occupation was continuous, for the Sacs,
Foxes and kindred tribes were at war with the Sioux, from
their first settlement on the Wisconsin river about 1655, to
their peace with the Sioux about 1701 ; and as the French
traders with the Sioux continued to sell powder, balls, guns,
and other articles contraband of war, to that tribe, against
the repeated remonstrance of the Foxes, their traders were
often plundered by the latter tribe and their allies.

Neither did the condition of aifairs improve on the alli-
ance of the Sacs, Foxes, and Sioux, in 1*701, as war was
immediately commenced by the allies against the Chippe-
ways and their allies of Lake Superior and the northern
country, which continued with slight intermission until the
reconciliation between the Foxes of the Wisconsin river,
and the Christinaux of Lake Superior, in 1754. It is true
that this war would at times subside, and traders would
again reach the Mississippi. Thus in the fall of 1727, the
French built Fort Beauharnois on the north side of Lake
Pepin, but were driven out the following year ; and Father
Guignas, who had there established the " Mission of St.
Michael, the archangel," was taken prisoner by the Masco-
tens, an allied tribe of the Foxes.

If the French ever had a permanent fort at Prairie Du
Chien, in latter times, as tradition confirms, it was probably
established in the fah1 of 1754, or the spring of the following
year, when they rallied powerful bands of ah1 the north-
western tribes against the English, with which they defeated
General Braddock, near Pittsburgh, at the opening of the
old French and Indian war, in 1755.

. The Rev. A. Bronson, of Prairie Du Chien, in the Collec-
tions of the State Historical Society (Vol. 4, page 249), on
the authority of B. W. Brisbois, Esq., a native of that place,
states that the first settler of Prairie Du Chien was probably
one Cardiuell, who came with his wife to the Mississippi,
from Canada, as a trader and trapper, between the years

WISCONSIN. 349

1720 and 1730, and first fixed his residence on Cannon river,
at the present site of Red Wing, Minnesota ; but soon
changed it to Prairie Du Chien, a more central point for
trade, and opened the first farm at the latter place. Mr.
Brisbois, who was personally acquainted with Cardinell' s
widow, who died very aged in 1827, had " heard her say
that when she came to the place first, the waters were so
high that they came up from the Wisconsin, next to the
bluifs, where the ground is some feet lower than the rest of
the plain, in their bark canoe." If this statement is true,
Cardinell probably came to this prairie at the time of the
great freshet on the Mississippi, in the spring of 1728, which
flooded the fort on Lake Pepin, and was said by the Sioux
to be the highest water they ever knew. The woman's
statement has been quite generally doubted, because in
modern times the river has not been high enough to flood
the land next to the bluffs; but the great flood of 1728
having been established by official French documents, it
goes strongly to corroborate her statement.

However, it does not follow, of course, that Cardinell was
not driven out of the country with the other traders by the
Foxes the same year, and even remained out until permitted
to return after the general peace in 1754. The same
authority makes the second settler one Ganier, whose
descendants still live at the Prairie, but the date of his
arrival is not given.

The Prairie derived its name from a Fox chief, by the
name of Alim, or Dog, whose band occupied the bank of
the Mississippi at that point as late as 1781, and the French
name, " Prairie Du Chien," literally means, " Dog's Plains."
By the French traditions, the "Dog's Plains" were pur-
chased of the Fox Indians, probably at the time the French
established the military post, about 1755, and evidence of
the fact having been lost, the pui-chase was confirmed by
NanpouiS) a Fox chief, about 1802, at Cahokia, near St.
Louis.

350 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Captain John Carver, of Boston, visited Prairie Du Chien
in 1766, and wrote of it as then containing " about three
hundred families," and that the houses were "well built,
after the Indian manner," but does not say that it then con-,
tained any French inhabitants. He, however, said that it
was a great mart for Indian trade, from which we can
reasonably infer that it had a good supply of French
traders ; but as Canada had been surrendered to England,
the French had of course evacuated their fort, which tradi-
tion said was burned the second year of the American
revolution.

All Canada having been surrendered to England by the
treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763, the most important
posts were taken possession of by the British government,
and in 1781, Lieutenant-Governor Patrick Sinclair, of
Canada, negotiated with the Indians, and purchased Mack-
inaw, Green Bay, and Prairie Du Chien, and held possession
of them until they were finally surrendered to the United
States, July 1, 1796. Peter Lapoint was the interpreter at
the treaty with the Indians, and was present at the Prairie
when Bazil Guird, Pierre Antya, and Augustin Ang£
delivered the goods to the Indians, pursuant to the treaty,
and with Michael Brisbois, became a permanent resident of
that place in 1781 or 1782, from which time the post became
one of importance, and its history easily traced. During
the next ten years, nearly the whole prairie was claimed and
reduced to cultivation by the adventurous courriers de bois,
who had abandoned their wanderings, taken to their sweet
embraces the daughters of the red men, and retired to the
enjoyment of that connubial bliss which is often less appre-
ciated by those much more advanced in the scale of civili-
zation. Their numerous but dusky progeny, in which often
flows the blood of mighty Indian warriors, now constitutes
a portion of the aristocracy of the ancient villages of Prairie
Du Chien and Green Bay.

Oharlevoix, who visited Green Bay in 1721, dates the

WISCONSIN. 351

first settlement of this place in the previous year, but
strangely ignores authentic points in the early history of
Wisconsin, and replaces them with vague traditions, which
has tended so much to confuse the otherwise authentic
histories of the early travelers. We have heretofore stated
that we date the first settlement at the time that Father
Allouez established the mission of St. Fra^ois Xavier, in
1669. This mission had been so successful that, in 1673,
Father Marquette stated that the " Fathers " had baptized
over two thousand of the natives. In 1680, Father Henne-
pin found Frenchmen trading there without license, on his
return from his exploration of the Mississippi. In the
"Memoir of M. De Denonville," in 1688, he speaks of
"some French established at the Bay Des Puans." In
1699, Father St. Cosme, in his journal across Green Bay
and down the Mississippi, said that " the Jesuit Fathers
have a mission at the head of the bay." In the " Memoir
on the Indians of Canada," dated 1718, published in Vol. 9,
of New York Colonial Documents, in speaking of Green
Bay, says, " there are some Frenchmen there also."

Indeed, authorities can be multiplied to almost any
extent, to show a continuous occupation by the French from
1669 to the surrender of Canada to the English.

At what time the first government fort was established at
the Bay, there is considerable doubt, as the writer finds no
mention of a commandant at that post until Captain De
Vercheres was appointed, who reached that place about the
first of October, 1747. Mackinaw had long been the head-
quarters of the fur traders, and a fort at that point was
commenced as early as the fall of 1688, under the orders of
the French king, dated March 8th of that year.

The renewal of the difficulties with the Foxes, by the
murder of a Frenchman by that tribe, at the Bay, in the
spring of 1747, may have led to the fortification of Green
Bay by the French government for the safety of the traders,
although in the return of a list of forts in Canada, in 1749,

352 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

none are mentioned at the Bay ; but Mackinaw was returned
as then having four very small brass guns, and one four-inch
mortar. Forts, however, were often mentioned at the Bay,
by early travelers, particularly La Hontan, in 1689, and
Charlevoix, in 1721 ; but such forts may have been stockades
without cannon, constructed by the French traders for their
own protection.

Captain De Vercheres evidently did not long remain at
the Bay, as he was ordered to Lake St. Francis the follow-
ing June. In 1754, Sieur Marin, who the previous year had
commanded an important French expedition to take pos-
session of the Ohio valley, was assigned to Green Bay, and
fortunately succeeded in settling a peace between the Bay
Indians and the Christinaux of Lake Superior.

The next year opened the old French and Indian war,
which only terminated with the surrender of all Canada to
the English. This war was the last great struggle on the
American continent between the English and French for
their territorial possessions, and for the supremacy of the
Catholic or Protestant religion ; and the French drew from
the north-west every available Indian and white man to war
against the English, and every battle-field of that war was
strewn with the bodies of the natives of the western
countiy.

The Governor of Canada having surrendered that prov-
ince to the English, by articles dated September 8th, 1760,
the following year forces were dispatched to take possession
of the north-west; and, October 12th, Captain Balfour
reached Green Bay with detachments from the 60th and
and 80th regiments of Royal Americans, and " found the
fort quite rotten, the stockade ready to fall, the houses
without cover, our fire-wood far off, and none to be got
when the river closed." The 14th of the same month,
Captain Balfour departed for St. Joseph's, leaving Lieutenant
James Gorrell, with " one sergeant, and corporal, and fifteen
privates, a French interpreter, and two English traders, viz. :

WISCONSIN. 353

Messrs. McKay from Albany, and Goddard from Montreal,"
to hold the post at the Bay, who erected Fort Edward
Augustus.

The Fox Indians, so often exterminated by the boasting
French, still occupied the Fox river, where they had been
located for more than a hundred years, and numbered three
hundred and fifty warriors, their usual strength.

Lieutenant Gorrell, in speaking of the Indians dependent
on that post for supplies, includes the Sioux and lowas,
which precludes the probability of there being a military
post at Prairie Du Chien at that time.

In 1763 occurred the Pontiac conspiracy, gotten up by
the old French traders in the north-west, to drive the
English out of the country ; and, June 4th of that year,
Mackinaw was treacherously captured by the united forces
of the Chippeways and Ottawas, and Lieutenant Jamet and
twenty privates were massacred.

News of the affair was sent by Captain Etherington, the
commandant, a prisoner, to Lieutenant Gorrell, with orders
to evacuate the post at the Bay and go to Mackinaw. A
council of the Bay Indians, including the Foxes, was imme-
diately called ; speeches were made, presents delivered, and
the Indians offered not only to protect the English, but to
reinstate the garrison at Mackinaw. Lieutenant Gorrell
accepted one hundred warriors as an escort beyond Mack-
inaw, and on the 21st of June, 1763, proceeded with his
small force, and English traders to Montreal.

This war was of some importance ; but peace was con-
cluded with the western tribes on the 18th of July, 1767, at
Niagara, and with Pontiac, July 18th, 1765, in the region
of the Wabash river.

The post at Mackinaw was reestablished in the fall of
1765, under the command of Captain William Howard, but
I find no evidence that a military post was ever reestab-
lished at Green Bay while it remained under the govern-
23

354 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

ment of Great Britain, nor until after the close of the war
of 1812.

According to " Grignon's Recollections," in 1785 Green
Bay contained only seven families, mostly half-breeds, and
none above, on Fox river. This number increased slowly,
and at the close of the war of 1812, there had been added
about thirty Canadians and half-breeds from Canada, so
that in his opinion the total number of men, women and
children might have reached one hundred and fifty souls
at the commencement of 1816.

About 1809 was erected the first saw-mill and grist-mill
in the State, on Devil's river, near the Bay, by Mr. Franks.
A second saw and grist-mill was erected in 1813, on
Reaume's creek, about four miles from the Bay. In 1818
Colonel John Shaw erected a grist-mill at Fisher's Coulee,
four miles above Prairie Du Chien, and the following year
a saw-mill on Black river, at the first fails. In 1822, Mr.
Perkins, -of- Kentucky, erected a saw-mill on the Menomonee
branch of the Chippeway river, which was soon carried oif
by a flood; and in 1830 was successfully replaced by a new
one, erected by Joseph Rolette arid James H. Lockwood,
of Prairie Du Chien.

The Indians along the Mississippi being restless and
troublesome, early in the spring of 1814 Governor Clark, of
St. Louis, visited Prairie Du Chien with a military force,
held a council with the Indians, established a military post,
and constructed a fort at that point. He left about sixty
men, under the charge of Lieutenant Perkins, to hold the
post. This force was captured, July 21st of the same year,
by Colonel McKay, with a large force of British and
Indians, after a four days' siege, and the men paroled and
sent with their arms on a gunboat to St. Louis. Colonel
McKay left at the fort the company of regulars and the two
companies of militia from Mackinaw, under" the command
of Captain Pohlman, of the regulars, who probably held the
post until the close of the war.

WISCONSIN. 355

On the 21st day of June, 1816, a detachment of United
States troops, under the command of Colonel Wiliowby
Morgan, took possession of Prairie Du Chien, and imme-
diately commenced the erection of a fort near the present
site of the dwelling-house of Colonel H. L. Dousman, at the
" upper town." This fort was flooded by the high water
of 1828; a new site was selected, and the present Fort
" Crawford" erected between the years 1829 and 1834, and
was some time under the eommand of Colonel Taylor,
afterwards President of the United States ; and his son-in-
law, Jeiferson Davis, President of the Confederate States,
was long a lieutenant at the same post, and conducted
Black Hawk to St. Louis in 1832.

About the 16th of July, 1816, Colonel John Miller, after-
wards Governor of Missouri, with a detachment of three
companies of the 3rd regiment United States infantry,
reached Green Bay in three sail vessels, the first to reach
that point ; and soon after Fort Howard was constructed,
and the old trading posts of Prairie Du Chien and Green
Bay began to emerge from half-breed jurisdiction to regular
American civilization.

During this long night of advancing civilization, the
traders and settlers were " a law unto themselves," and
generally redressed their own grievances, and many a poor
man perished by the deadly missile of his comparatively
white neighbor, who charged the offence on some straggling
Indian ; but, to their credit, these offences were never
approved, and the code of the Courrier de bois was generally
like that of the Irishman, to give every one " fair play."

While justice to some may be intuitive, yet it is not
safe always to leave its administration to either the guilty
or injured party; and that being the opinion of General
Harrison, then governor of the territory of Indiana, he
occasionally appointed officers for Green Bay and Prairie
Du Chien, but as these appointments were regarded as a
slight interference with the established order of things, they

356 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

were never very popular. This, however, may not be true
in reference to Justice Reaume, who was said to have been
commissioned about 1808 at Green Bay, and long balanced
the scales, if reports be true,, in the true style of the monkey
in the fable. lie, however, was brought to sorrow by the
competition of Mr. Justice Porlier, who was commissioned
by the Governor of Canada in 1812, claiming British juris-
diction of the Bay, and also recommissioued in January,
1815, by the same authority.

The advent of the troops and American population to
Green Bay and Prairie Du Chien, the admission of Illinois
as a State, and the annexation of Wisconsin to the territory
of Michigan, attracted so much attention that it was deemed
proper to give this new territory a civil government, and to
that end the three judges in Michigan, then constituting
the legislature, passed an Act organizing the present terri-
tory of Wisconsin into two counties, with the division line
running north and south through the portage between the
Fox and Wisconsin rivers, calling the eastern county
Brown, and the western Crawford. This Act was approved
by Governor Cass, October 16th, 1818, and Wisconsin
became a civilized portion of the United States.

The mines of Wisconsin have figured largely in connec-
tion with its history, and have contributed much to attract
the pioneer to its soil. Nicholas Perrot, the early French
interpreter and commandant on the upper Mississippi, in
1689, has the credit of first discovering lead on the Des
Moines, in Iowa, the mines of which long bore his name.

Le Sueur, in his voyage up the Mississippi, in 1700,
speaks of a lead mine, seven leagues up the " River a la
Mine," which, by his distances, was evidently Fever river,
at Galena, Illinois ; and the same authority further said:
" From the 25th to the 27th of July, made ten leagues,
passed two small rivers, made an examination of a lead
mine, of which we took a supply. This mine was probably
at Dubuque.

WISCONSIN. 357

The exact date of the discovery of lead in Wisconsin
does not appear; but Captain Carver visited the Blue
Mounds in 1766, and speaks of lead as abounding there.
He also visited the Sues at Sauk Prairie, on the Wisconsin
river, and remarked that " so plentiful is lead here, that I
saw large quantities of it lying about the streets in the town
belonging to the Saukies." It is quite probable that lead
was known to exist in Wisconsin long anterior to its dis-
covery by Captain Carver. The Indians owned the mines,
and dug, smelted, and sold it to the French traders for
goods, who shipped it to market when they went to St.
Louis for their, winter's supply.

In 1822 the lead trade began to attract some attention,
and James Johnson, a government contractor for the United
States army, made a kind of treaty with the Indians, and
obtained leave to work the mines for a limited time, prob-
ably four years, as they left about 1826. Johnson made
some arrangements by which he let in others also to dig,
and Messrs. John and Joseph Ward, of Kentucky, brought
in from fifty to four hundred negro slaves. Several others
also worked slaves in the mines. Mr. John Armstrong
came to Galena July 10th, 1822, about ten days after John-
son, and worked at different points in Illinois and Wiscon-
sin. In 1826 there \v;is a great rush of miners to Galena,
somewhat like the California excitement, from which point
they scattered through that country, and the following year
found many of them still digging ore and opening farms.
John S. Miller was at Gratiot's Grove ; Ebenezer Brigham
and John Ray were near Plattville ; William Adney near
Hazel Green ; John Armstrong and Jesse W. Shulls at
Shullsburg, and several others in south-western Wisconsin.

This advent of the miners upon the territory of the Win-
nebago Indians without any treaty, deprived them of their
previous profit- in the lead trade, and, with the difficulty at
Fort Snelling, nearly produced an open war. Murders were
committed on the whites by that tribe. The miners fled to

358 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Galena, organized military companies, elected Henry Dodge
as their general, and, with the government troops, made a
campaign to the portage of the Wisconsin and Fox rivers,
where the difficulties were compromised and peace restored
without much bloodshed.

In this campaign to the site of Fort Winnebago (the fort
having been erected the following year,) General Dodge
discovered the Indian diggings at Dodgeville, and in the
fall of 1827 he took possession of those diggings, and
thereby founded the village of Dodgeville.

In the spring of 1828 lead was discovered at Mineral
Point, and by fall Dodgeville had about five hundred
inhabitants, Mineral Point about six hundred, and the
whole mining district in south-western Wisconsin about
8,000 inhabitants. In the fall of 1829 a public meeting was
held at Mineral Point, and John L. Chastine, Esq., a Ken-
tucky lawyer, was appointed to attend the next session of
the legislature of Michigan, and procure the organization of
a new county south of the Wisconsin river. He performed
the duty assigned him, and early in the winter Iowa became
the third county in the new State.

The rapid ingress of population to the Mississippi valley
at this period alarmed other Indian tribes; and in 1832
broke out the Sac war, and that tribe, under their leader,
" Black Hawk," was driven through the eastern part of
Wisconsin, by way of Rock river, the four lakes, and the
Wisconsin Heights, and finally defeated at the battle of
Bad Ax. This campaign brought the beautiful groves and
prairies of that delightful region to the notice of thousands,
and led to its prompt occupation by the adventurous emi-
grant within the next ten years.

The Rev. Father Zenobius Membre", speaking of the
Indian tribes with whom he had become acquainted, and
of their location, having incidentally remarked that " the
Maskoutens and Outagamies, who dwell at about 4;>° north
latitude, on the banks of the river called Melleoki, which

WISCONSIN. 359

empties into Lake Dauphin, very near their village," etc.,
we infer that he had learned those facts when he passed that
point with the party of La Salle, in the month of October,
1679, on their way to the Illinois, to explore the Mississippi,
and therefore that La Salle and his party, consisting of the
Jesuit Fathers Hennepin, Gabriel, Membre, and Watteaux,
and seventeen voyageurs, were the first white men who ever
visited the location now known as Milwaukee.

It is true that Father Marquette, returning to Illinois,
passed Milwaukee in November, 1674, and also that the
Rev. Father Allouez, on his way to Illinois, passed it again
in the month of April, 1677 ; but as neither of them men-
tion the name of Milwaukee, or the Indians on its bank, we
are not allowed the inference that they landed and made
themselves acquainted with its name and locality, although
they probably saw the site of the city.

Again we find the name mentioned by the Rev. Father
St. Cosme, on his way to the Illinois, in the following
'anguage : " We arrived on the 7th (October, 1699) at
Melwarick. This is a river where there is a village which
has been considerable, and inhabited by Motarctins and
Foxes, and even some Poux. We remained there two days,
partly on account of the wind, and partly to refresh our
people a little, as duck and teal shooting was very plenty on
the river. On the 10th of October, having left Meliwarick
early in the morning, we arrived in good season at ' Kipi-
kawi,' which is about eight leagues from it. Some Indians
had led us to suppose that we might ascend by this river,
and that after making a poi'tage of about nine leagues, we
could descend by another river called Pistrui, which empties
into the Illinois." They remained five days at " Kipikus-
kwi," exploring, found no water, and went on the lake to
" Chicago."

The writer was not well settled in the orthography of
these names, as he changed each time he wrote the words.

The meaning of the word Meliwarik, or as now Written,

360 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Milwaukee, is not very clear, some traders rendering it
" rich or beautiful land." Mr. Grignon, on the authority of
an old Indian, renders it, Man-a-wau-kee, or place of an
aromatic root called man-wau ; but Governor Doty is quite
positive that it means " the place of the hazel brush." The
difference in the orthography of traders, probably results,
in part, from the dialects of the Foxes, Mascotens, and
Potowatomies, who have inhabited it at different times.

" Kipikawi *' is also rendered " Root," for which the
French give as an equivalent, " Racine," and therefrom we
derive the name of another beautiful city on the western
bank of Michigan, or Great Lake.

Milwaukee, like the most of the lake and river towns, has
been occupied from time to time by Indian traders, from an
early period of our State history ; but the last one, more
permanent than the rest, and whose stay reached down to
civilization, was Solomon Juneau, Esq., a native of Canada,
who erected his trading shop the 14th of September, 1818,
the year that Brown county was organized. From this
time to 1834, the region of country along the west shore of
Lake Michigan seemed to afford little or no attraction to the
white settlers ; but in the latter year, Colonel George H.
Walker, Hon. Byron Kilbourn, and some others, made
claims at Milwaukee ; Captain Gilbert Knapp and two asso-
ciates, at Racine ; Messrs. M. D. and A. R. Cutler, John
Menderville, and Mr. Luther, at old Prairie Village, now
Waukesha, and perhaps a few others, when application was
made to the Michigan territorial legislature for another new
county, and on the 6th of September, 1834, Milwaukee, or
" the Land of the Hazel," was inaugurated as the fourth
sister county of our growing family.

The two following years, the " Land of the Hazel "
attracted comparatively a large emigration, which in 1836
and 1837, culminated in a wild town-lot speculation, and a
general bankruptcy of speculators.

The territory of Michigan, east of the lake, including the

WISCONSIN. 361

northern peninsula, having formed a State government, and
been admitted into the Union of States, Congress passed an
act, which was approved by the President April 20, 1836,
" establishing the territorial government of Wisconsin."

The rapid settlement of the new territory soon made it
necessary to adopt a constitution and become a State, and
to that end delegates were elected, who met at Madison, the
seat of government, October 5, 1846, and after a stormy
session of seventy-three days, they adopted a constitution,
which, on being submitted to a popular vote of the people
of the territory, was rejected by a considerable majority.
The difficulty in the convention arose mainly from the fact
that, as the democratic party was largely in the majority in
that body, the visionary theorists of the leaders succeeded
in pressing into the constitution some of their wildest
schemes, which proved more objectionable to the rank and
file of the party than supposed ; hence the " bolters," joining
the whigs, who were all united in opposition, a large major-
ity was secured against it.

A second convention was called, and new delegates
elected, who met December 15, 1847, and on the 1st day
of February, 1848, they signed the present constitution of
the State, which, having been submitted to a vote of the
people, was ratified and adopted without any serious oppo-
sition, whereupon Congress passed an act, which was
approved by the President May 29, 1848, admitting Wis-
consin as a State of the Union.

On the admission of the State into the Union, it became
a district for a United States District Court, and Hon. A. G.
Miller, a territorial judge, was appointed district judge by
the President.

By an act of Congress, approved September 28, 1850,
Wisconsin became a collection district, and Milwaukee the
port of entry, and Kenosha, Racine, Sheboygan, Green Bay,
and'Depere, ports of delivery.

In 1834, Wisconsin territory, then belonging to Michigan,
23*

362 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

•was divided into two land districts, for the sale of govern-
ment land, by a north and south line on the township line
next west of Fort Winnebago ; and the eastern district was
called " Green Bay," and the western district the Wisconsin
land district," registers and receivers being appointed in
both districts. Other districts were afterwards established,
as the Milwaukee in 1836, Western in 1849, Stevens' Point,
July 30, 1852, La Crosse by the same act, Fond Du Lac,
of Lake Superior, in 1855, and Chippeway district in 1857.

The population of a State, from period to period, is as
good an index of the advance of civilization as can ber
obtained without the actual facts in the case. In Wisconsin,
the population has been as follows : In 1840, 30,945 ; 1850,
305,391 ; 1860, 775,881 ; 1865, 863,326.

When this State was admitted into the Union, it became
entitled to every sixteenth section in each township for the
support of schools ; also, to five hundred thousand acres as
one of the new States, to balance the "surplus revenue "
distributed to the older States in 1836. This amount was
subsequently increased by one-fourth of the " swamp lands "
donated to the State by the act of 1850.

Portions of these lands have been sold from time to time
on contracts of ten years, for seven per cent, interest, stfrne
of which contracts have been forfeited to the State ; and in
1865 the school lands held by the State, both unsold and
forfeited, amounted to 515,081 acres. The amount of the
funds yielding seven per cent, interest, since the organiza-
tion of the State, has been as follows :

1849 ---------- $8,500.00

1850 538,094.41

1851 765,109.49

1852 ---------- 819,200.50

1853 ---------- 1,141,804.28

1854 --.-...--- 1,670,258.77

1855 1,897,269.30

1856 --.....--- 1,859,242.82

1857 2,007,944.15

WISCONSIN.

363

1858 -

1859
1860 -
1861
1862 -
1863
1864 -
1865

$2,845,846.34

• 2,786,767.03

2,339>694-49

• 2,458,351.49
2,219,905.59

• 2,262,466.15
2,118,423.56

• 2,113,506.32

These funds for 1865 were invested as follows:

Amount due on land sold on certificates . - -$675,037.11

Amount due on mortgages ----- 289,123.75

Amount due on certificates of State indebtedness - - 897,000.00

Amount due on State bonds ----- 103,700.00

One quarter of the normal school fund - - - - 146,645.46

Total- ' - - - $2,113,506.32

Statistical Table of Schools in Wisconsin.

TBAE.

Total number of children
in the State over four
and under twenty years
of age.

Total number who at-
tended school some por-
tion of the year.

Average number in school
a portion of the time, of
each hundred of school
age.

Average number of days
schools were taught.

Apportionment In cents
per scholar.

1849

7045T

32 147

45

71

1850

92,947

61,507

60

74

8 8-10

1851

111,481

78,944

70

74

50

1852

124,783

88.042

71

75

48

1853

138 279

97,835

69

75

45

1854

155 125

103,933

65

77

72

1855

186,960

122,462

64

84

80 5-10

1856

213,886

134,353

64

99

70

185T

241,545

153,613

60

66

1858

264,077

171,785

63

122

75

1859

278,871

188,477

64

1 1

64

1860

288,934

194,357

67

136

64

1861

299,133

198,443

66

182

82

1862

808,056

191,366

62

109

50

1863

320,965

215,163

67

120

44

1S<>4

329,906

211,119

64

120J

47

1S65...

835,582

223,007

66

134*

46

364 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

In 1865 the whole number of school districts, and parts
of school districts in the State, were 5,725, in which were
employed 7,532 teachers. The total amount expended in
the State for schools was $1,055,101.33, of which $151,816.34
were received from the State, and the balance raised by
taxes. The number of public school-houses in the State
was 4,338, which will accommodate 241,593 pupils. These
houses and sites were valued at $1,669,770.06.

In addition to these public schools, there were, in 1865,
228 private schools, employing 242 teachers, and in which
7,986 scholars were registered who did not attend the
public schools; 14 academies, employing 81 teachers, and
having 1,950 students ; and nine colleges and universities,
employing 56 professors, and having 1,449 students. All
of these institutions are supported by private means, except
the State University, which had an endowment from the
United States in public lands.

The "Normal fund," arising from the sale of "swamp
lands," has been set apart to establish four Normal schools
for the special training of teachers. The sites for the
schools had not been selected in February, 1866. There
has also been appropriated by Congress 240,000 acres of
government land, for the special establishment of one or
more agricultural colleges in the State, by the act approved
July 2nd, 1862. These lands have been located in Wiscon-
sin, and the whole fund has been set over to the State Uni-
versity, which has organized a department of agriculture.

To these educational institutions may be added, as institu-
tions contributing greatly to the aid of civilization, the State
Reform school at Waukesha, containing, September 30th,
1864, one hundred and seventeen males and twenty females ;
the State Prison at Waupun, containing at the same date
one hundred and twenty inmates ; the Institute for the Educa-
tion of the Blind, at Janesville, which commenced with eight
pupils in 1850, but had increased from year to year until
October 1st, 1864, when the pupils numbered fifty-nine ; the

WISCONSIN. 365

Institute for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, at
Delavan, having, October 17th, 1864, forty-seven male and
thirty-three female pupils ; arid the State Hospital for the
Insane, at Fourth lake, near Madison, having in October,
1864, seventy-nine male, and ninety-one female inmates.
These institutions are all in excellent condition, and are
supported from funds derived from taxes on the whole
property of the State.

The introduction of newspapers is also an important
index of the progress of civilization in modern times ; hence
we find the first paper in Wisconsin started at Green Bay,
December llth, 1833, and called the " Green Bay Intelli-
gencer," a four-column semi-monthly. The second paper
was the " Wisconsin Free Press," started also at Green Bay
in 4835. The third paper was the " Milwaukee Advertiser,"
commenced July 14th, 1836, at Milwaukee. The fourth
was the " Belmont Gazette," commenced at Belmont in the
fall of 1836. The fifth, the "Milwaukee Sentinel," a six-
column weekly, commenced at Milwaukee in June, 1837.
The sixth was the " Wisconsin Culturist," a large octavo,
issued monthly, and commenced in 1837 at Milwaukee.
The "Racine Argus" next came as the seventh, in 1839,
and after six months was removed to Madison, and became
the " Wisconsin Enquirer." In 1843 it removed to Mil-
waukee, and became the " Milwaukee Democrat" in August
of that year. The next year it was changed to the " Free-
man," and in subsequent years the " Free Democrat." In
1838 the " Miners' Free Press" was started at Mineral
Point; in 1839, the "Northern Badger," at Plattville;
1840, the "Madison Express," at Madison; 1841, the
" Southport American," at Southport ; " Green Bay Repub-
lican" and " Green Bay Phoenix," both of Green Bay ; and
"Milwaukee Journal," at Milwaukee. In 1842 there were
four more added : " Racine Advocate," " Wisconsin Demo-
crat," at Madison ; Independent American," at Plattville ;
and "Mineral Point Free Press." In 1843 the "Grant

366 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

County Herald" was started at Lancaster. In 1844 five
more were added : the " Wisconsin Argus," at Madison ;
the " Milwaukeean," a tri-weekly; the "Wisconsin
Register," at Plattville ; and -the " Wisconsin Banner," a
German paper at Milwaukee. Many of the papers enumer-
ated were of short life, others changed their residences and
names, and some became permanent.

The writer started the "Western Star," at Elk Horn,
August 7th, 1845, the first paper in Walworth county, with
which he was connected for nearly a year. At that time,
the following were the newspapers of the territory, with
their politics :

Whig. — Milwaukee Sentinel (daily and weekly) ; South-
port American ; Madison Express ; Wisconsin Republican,
Green Bay ; Janesville Gazette ; Western Star.

Democratic. — Milwaukee Courier ; Southport Telegraph ;
Racine Advocate ; Wisconsin Argus, Madison ; Mineral
Point Democrat ; Wisconsin Banner, (German,) Milwaukee.

Abolition. — American Freeman, at Prairieville.

Neutral. — Wisconsin Herald, Lancaster; Independent
American, Plattville.

The " Sentinel" then published the only daily paper in
the territory, which was begun in October, 1844, and all the
balance of the list were weekly.

The exact circulation of these papei'S at the time can not
be given, but the daily did not exceed 300 per day, nor the
weeklies 500 per week, on an average. This would give
about 575,000 annually.

In 1850, Wisconsin had 6 daily, 4 tri-weekly, 35 weekly,
and 1 monthly, with an aggregate circulation annually of
2,665,487.

In 1860, the papers had increased to 14 daily, 8 tri-weekly,
130 weekly, and 3 monthly, with an aggregate annual cir-
culation of 10,798,670.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE STATES OF MISSOURI, IOWA, MINNESOTA, KANSAS, AND
NEBRASKA; AND TERRITORIES OF COLORADO, DAKOTA,
AND MONTANA.

MISSOURI.

WE have heretofore noticed that Missouri was first visited
in 1673, by Jolyette and Marquette. From that time traders
occasionally visited that region; and some time after the
building of Fort Chartres, and said to be in 1751, a few
houses were erected at St. Genevieve, nearly opposite the
old town of Kaskaskia, which was the first settlement of
Missouri.

In 1762, Mr. D'Abadie, the governor of Louisiana,
granted to a company of merchants, of New Orleans, the
exclusive privilege of the fur trade with the Indian nations
of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. This company bore
the title of the firm of Pierre Liguest Laclede, Antoine
Maxan and Co. In August, 1763, Mr. Laclede, the princi-
pal of the company, left New Orleans with his shipment of
goods, and arrived at St. Genevieve, November 3rd of that
year.

Failing to find at that place houses sufficiently large to
hold his goods, he temporarily deposited them in Fort
Chartres, and then passed up the Mississippi to find a suit-
able site for his trading establishment, finally selecting the
ground on which St. Louis now stands. He cut down a
few trees to mark the site, and returned to Fort Chartres,

368 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

where he spent the winter. The 1st of February, 1764, he
dispatched Auguste Chouteau, with thirty men and boats,
who took possession, and commenced improvements at St.
Louis, February 15th of that year. Log houses were
erected, and in due time Laclede and Co., with their goods,
wer.e installed at the new city, which he named St. Louis.

At this period, the French commandant at Fort Chartres
had received orders to surrender the east bank of the Mis-
sissippi to the English, and the French inhabitants and half-
breeds were in great consternation about failing into the
hands of the " heretics," as they called the English. Laclede
took advantage of this alarm, and urged the inhabitants to
pass over the river and settle at St. Louis. The French
commandant, De Neyon, urged them to go down the river
and colonize near New Orleans. The latter left with most
of the troops and many of the inhabitants for New Orleans,
July 10th, 1764. Many of these emigrants to the latter city
not meeting with the success they expected, returned, and
settled at St. Louis. The sequel showed that Laclede
secured enough to constitute a small village at St. Louis.
After De St. Ange De Bellerive had surrendered Fort
Chartres to the English in 1765, he, too, passed over to St.
Louis with his troops, and became a permanent settler.
St. Louis thus became the capital of upper Louisiana, with
Captain De St. Ange as commandant. Although Louisiana
was transferred by the French to the Spanish in 1763, the
latter nation never took possession of upper Louisiana until
August llth, 1768; and this possession only continued
eleven months at first, as the difficulties at New Orleans
called away the Spanish troops, who did not return until
1770.

The early pioneers have traditions of Vanne de grand
coup, or the year of the great blow. It appears that about
1779, Jean Marie Ducharme, a Canadian fur trader of
Mackinaw, had been on a trading expedition up the Mis-
souri river, and returning to St. Louis with a valuable

MISSOURI. 369

cargo of furs, was arrested by the Spanish commandant,
thrown into prison, and his goods confiscated, because he
had no Spanish license to trade. Proving that he had
ransomed some Spanish, who were prisoners among the
Indians, he was set at liberty, and returned to Mackinaw.
Smarting under the loss of his property, he obtained the
countenance and assistance of Governor Sinclair, the British
commandant (England being at war with Spain), and mus-
tered an expedition of Canadians and Indians, nearly nine
hundred strong, which attacked St. Louis May 6, 1780, but
were driven off by the French inhabitants. The Mackinaw
expedition, however, succeeded ia lulling and scalping about
sixty,, principally women and children, who had not time to
escape from the fields, where they were engaged in agricul-
tural labors. The English also captured a few prisoners.

The emigration to Missouri was not confined to the
Canadian French alone, for when the Americans had once
passed the Alleghany mountains, their restless dispositions
often led them to the very outskirts of civilization ; hence
we find that General Morgan, of American fame, procured
a large grant of land of the Spanish government in 1788,
and soon after planted an American colony at the present
site of New Madrid ; while General Dodge and his father,
and others, settled at St. Genevieve in 1796. Even Daniel
Boone, of Kentucky fame, spent the latter portion of his life
in Missouri.

On "the 9th day of July, 1803, at seven o'clock P. M.,"
says the old record, St. Louis was thrown into a profound
sensation on the receipt of the news that Spain had ceded
Louisiana to France, and that Napoleon had sold it to the
United States. This proved true, and on the 9th of March,
the following year, Major Amos Stoddard appeared at that
city with a company of the United States troops, and, as the
agent of France, accepted the surrender from the Spanish
to the French ; and the following day, accepted the surren-
der from the French, and unfurled the stars and stripes over
24

370 UPPEB MISSISSIPPI.

the territory of upper Louisiana. Major Stoddard became
military governor, though soon after superseded by the
arrival pf General Wilkinson.

By an act of Congress passed March 6, 1804, Louisiana
was divided on the parallel of the thirty-third degree of
north latitude, and the southern portion was incorporated as
the " Territory of Orleans ; " while the northern portion was
organized as the " District of Louisiana," and placed under
the jurisdiction of the governor and judges of the Territory
of Indiana.

By another act of Congress of the 4th of June, 1812, a
portion of the "DistrictTof, Louisiana" was organized under
the territorial name of Missouri, with a civil government.
By the act of Congress of March 6, 1820, the people of
Missouri were authorized to hold a convention and frame a
State constitution. The convention was accordingly held,
a constitution adopted July 19th, 1820, and the State of
Missouri admitted into the Union under the act of Congress
of March 2nd, 1821, pursuant to the President's proclama-
tion. A bitter opposition was made in Congress to the
admission of Missouri as a State, for the reason that the
inhabitants thereof had established slavery ; but this oppo-
sition was finally compromised by a section in the act of
March 6, 1820, prohibiting slavery in all the Louisiana pur-
chase north of the parallel of 36° 30' north latitude ; not,
however, including any part of Missouri within the prohibi-
tion.

This was the postponement, only, of the great question
of slavery, which the passions of men would only allow to
be settled by the civil war of 1861.

The act authorizing the people to form a State govern-
ment contained the usual grants for schools, a seminary,
seat of government, salt springs, and five per cent, of the
net proceeds of the sales of the public lands. The principal
of the common school fund in 1850 was $575,667.96, which
was loaned on bonds to the State bank. The seminary fund

MISSOURI. 371

amounted to $100,000. In 1862 the school fund amounted
to $687,968, and was invested in State bonds. The disorder
in the State on account of the civil war suspended any
distribution of the school fund to schools after 1860, until
after the close of the war.

A State convention to amend the constitution of the
State, assembled in February, 1861, and after refusing to
vote the State out of the Union, adjourned until July. At
the appointed day of adjournment, it met and deposed
Governor Jackson, and the most of the State officers and
members of the legislature, who had become rebels, and
organized a provisional government — the convention as-
suming legislative functions for about two years. It finally
adjourned July 1, 1863, after having, on that day, passed
an ordinance abolishing slavery from and after July 4, 1870.

In 1769, upper Louisiana had a population of 891 souls.
By the census of 1810, Missouri had a population of 20,845.
In 1820 it had increased to 66,557, of which 10,222 were
slaves. In 1830, 140,455; 1840, 383,702; 1850, 682,044;
and 1860, 1,182,012, of which 3,572 were free colored, and
114,931 were slaves. The civil war which followed probably
diminished the population of the State to some extent.

Of newspapers, Missouri had none in 1810, and but five
in 1828. In 1840 there were 2 daily, 28 weekly, 1 tri-
weekly; total, 31. In 1850 there were: Literary and
miscellaneous, 17 ; political, 42 ; religious, 2 ; total, 61, with
a circulation of 70,480, and an aggregate circulation for the
year, of 6,195,560 copies. Five of them were daily papers.

In 1860, Missouri had : Political, 15 daily, 3 tri-weekly,
122 weekly, and 1 monthly, papers ; Religious, § weekly and
2 monthly; Literary and Miscellaneous, 1 daily, 12 weekly,
and 8 monthly papers; total of all, 173, with an aggregate
annual circulation of 29,741,464 copies.

372 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

IOWA.

This State was visited by Marque tte and Jolyette in 1673,
and by Captain Perrot in 1689 ; and the latter has the credit
of discovering the lead mine at Des Moines. Le Seuer saw
lead at Dubuque in 1700. In 1780, the squaw of Peosta, a
Fox warrior, discovered a vein of lead at Dubuque, and in
1788, Julien Dubuque, of Prairie Du Chien, obtained leave
of the Indians to work the mine. He immediately settled
at Dubuque, and became the pioneer of Iowa.

After the close of the Black Hawk war in 1832, the
United States purchased the eastern part of Iowa of the
Sac and Fox Indians, the Indians making a reservation of
four hundred sections. In 1836, these sections were pur-
chased, and the following year, 1,250,000 acres additional,
along the west side of the purchase of 1832, which covered
nearly all the balance of the present State of Iowa. The
Indian title being extinguished to the eastern part in 1832,
the following year, the settlements commenced, and were
continued with rapidity.

In 1836 Iowa was included in the organization of
Wisconsin territory, and July 4, 1838, was made a separate
territory by the name of " Iowa." The 7th day of October,
1844, Iowa adopted a State constitution, and March 2, 1845,
was admitted into the Union by act of Congress. The new
State received the usual land grants of other new States.

The increase of population in the new territory was rapid,
and in 1840 the census showed 43,112; 1850, 192,214; 1860,
674,948 ; and in 1863, 702,374.

The educational interests of Iowa are nearly the same as
those of Wisconsin.

The newspaper press shows a fair advancement, the
" Dubuque Visitor " having been the pioneer in 1836. In
1840, there were 4 weekly papers ; 1850, 2 tri-weekly, 25
weekly, 2 monthly; total, 25, with an aggregate annual

MINNESOTA. 373

circulation of 1,512,800. In 1860, the number had advanced
to : Political, 9 daily, 2 bi-weekly, 2 tri-weekly, 106 weekly ;
Religious, 1 monthly; Literary, 1 monthly; and Miscel-
laneous, 6 weekly, and 3 monthly ; having an aggregate
annual circulation of 6,589,360 copies.

MINNESOTA.

This name literally means, in the Sioux language, Smoky-
water, and was applied by them to Minnesota river, which
has a clay-colored appearance.

We have noticed that Father Hennepin and De Lut first
visited this State in 1680, or at least the upper Mississippi
part, but it is probable that Father Allouez first visited the
territory west of Lake Superior as early as 1665.

Captain Nicholas Perrot, with a small military force, took
formal possession, in the name of the King of France, of
the whole upper Mississippi region, and made a record
thereof May 8, 1689, at the post of St. Anthony.

Le Seuer visited the country again in 1700, and built a fort
on the Blue Earth river, where he dug and shipped a quan-
tity of the blue earth, supposing it to be copper ore.

From this time, the French had but little trade with the
Sioux, as the French were the allies of the Chippeways, who
were at war with the Sioux, and Sacs and Foxes. The
massacre of the Foxes at Detroit, in 1712, cut off all com-
munication with the Sioux by the Wisconsin, until after
1754, when peace was made with the Foxes.

After the revolution, England held possession of the
north-west until 1796, when it was surrendered to the United
States ; but the upper Mississippi attracted little attention
until after the peace of 1815. In 1816, the President sent
a military force to take possession of Prairie Du Chien, and
in 1819 Fort Snelling was commenced. In July, 1847, the
writer visited St. Paul, Fort Snelling, Falls of St. Anthony,
and Stillwater. At St. Paul he found two small log stores,

374 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

with Indian goods, one of which was kept by Henry Jack-
son, a native of Virginia, who was the proprietor of the
town site, and had resided there five years. A few half-
breed log houses were on the prairie, towards St. Anthony's
falls. Mendota was the only trading establishment of the
fur company. Around Fort Snelling were three or four
officers' houses. St. Anthony had a government mill and
one log house on the west side, and one log house on the
east side of the falls. Stillwater had a new water saw-mill,
and about ten buildings. There were a few farms opened
between Stillwater and St. Paul, and some trading-posts
along the west bank of the river to Iowa. This was
Minnesota in 1847.

On the 3rd of March, 1849, Minnesota, by act of Con-
gress, received a territorial government. The settlement of
the new territory was slow until after the treaty with the
Sioux of 1851, which was amended and finally ratified by
the President, February 24, 1853. This treaty opened for
settlement nearly all Minnesota west of the Mississippi. In
anticipation of the ratification of this treaty, settlers in-
trigued with officials, and occasionally got permits to trade
with the Indians, thereby securing advantageous locations
west of the river; but early in the spring of 1853, the great
emigrant wave overspread all southern Minnesota, and
extended high up the Mississippi. From this time the
settlement continued rapid, and February 26, 1857, Congress
passed a law allowing the formation of a State government.
A convention was called, delegates elected, and a constitu-
tion adopted August 29, 1857. The constitution was ratified
by the people, by a popular vote taken October 13th, of the
same year. A peculiarity of this convention was, that in
the early stages of its sitting, the delegates divided on party
issues, which led to the division of the convention, and
continued as two bodies, and each adopted a separate
constitution. The compromising men of each division then
put themselves to work to get up a compromise constitution,

MINNESOTA.

377

and finally succeeded in agreeing on one, which was ratified
by the people as above stated. The State was admitted
into the Union by Congress, by act of May 11, 1858.

By the act of Congress of February 26, 1857, there were
donated to Minnesota, every sixteenth and thirty-sixth
section of land in each township for common schools,
Beventy-two sections for a State university, ten sections to
complete the public buildings, seventy-two sections to
include twelve salt springs, and five per cent, of the net
proceeds of the sales of the public lands in the State, for
internal improvements.

The following table, from the report of the superintendent
of public instruction of Minnesota, dated December 31,
1865, will show the condition of the common schools of
the State for the years 1864 and 1865 :

1864.

1865.

Increase.

Whole numbe of districts

1,738

1,824

86

Whole nuiube of districts reported

1,402

1 495

93

17

106

89

Whole numbe entirely unreported
Whole numbe of persons from 5 to 21 years.
Whole numbe in attendance, males
Whole numl* in attendance, females
Whole numbe in attendance, both sexes . ..

119

74,965
23,054
21,738
44,787
2(i 321

223
87,244
26,165
24,399
50,564
82 259

104
12,279
8,111
2,666
5,777
5,938

Total nUiiiber of teachers

1,888

2,003

115

Total amount paid teachers

$110 024.97

$124,563.71

$14,538.74

Total number of school-houses

994

1,112

128

Total value of school-houses

1224,500.25

$280.829.51

$55,829.26

The population of Minnesota, which numbered only 6,077
in 1850, had increased, in 1860, to 173,855 souls.

The amount distributed in 1865, of the "current school
fund," was $55,474.10.

A normal school was in successful operation at Winona,
with fifty-eight students. A State University was located
at St. Anthony, about 1859, and a building partly erected,
but abandoned, probably for lack of funds. The writer is
not advised that it has since been finished. The superin-
24*

378 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

tendent's report for 1865 makes no mention of it. There
are, however, the Hamline University, at Red Wing, be-
longing to the Methodist Episcopal church ; another at
Hastings, in charge of the Baptists ; and the North-western
University at Wasioga, in charge of the Freewill Baptists ;
all of which are doing a good work for collegiate education.
There are, also, several flourishing academies in different
parts of the State.

The first newspaper of Minnesota was called the " St.
Paul Pioneer," and was started by Mr. Goodhue, from
Grant county, Wisconsin, April 28, 1849. The "Register"
was started in July of the same year, the first number of
which was printed in Cincinnati. About the same time, the
" Chronicle "was issued at St. Paul. The two latter papers
were soon after consolidated into the " Chronicle and Reg-
ister." In 1860, there were: Political, 4 daily, and 43
weekly papers; Religious, 1 weekly; and Miscellaneous, 1
weekly, with an aggregate annual circulation of 2,344,000
copies.

KANSAS.

Long previous to the surrender of Canada, the French
maintained a military post on the Kansas river, but the
soldiers were withdrawn in 1764. After the region came
into the possession of the United States, it was, by Act of
Congress of June 30th, 1834, included in the "Indian
country," and the most of the north-western tribes of
Indians were subsequently located in Kansas. By the Act
of Congress of May 30th, 1854, Kansas territory was
organized, and a territorial government put in operation.
By this Act, Congress repealed that portion of the Act of
March 6th, 1820, which prohibited slavery north of 36° 30',
north latitude, commonly called the Missouri compromise
line, and provided that the people of Kansas might establish
or prohibit slavery, as they might determine in their consti-
tution. This opened the territory to the colonization

KANSAS. 379

schemes of the friends and enemies of slavery, and both
parties commenced organizing and arming companies, and
sending them to Kansas. The people of Missouri being
near at hand, at the time of the first election, went into
Kansas, took forcible possession of the ballot-boxes at
several important precincts, and voted so liberally that the
first election was carried for the pro-slavery party. The
free State men claimed that the election was carried by
fraud, and refused to obey the laws passed by the territorial
legislature. They also appealed to President Buchanan,
but he turned a deaf ear, and finally took the pro-slavery
side. The result that followed was a semi-civil war for
nearly three years, in which mobs, resistance to officers,
and midnight assassinations, filled the country with violence
and murders, and the military of the United States were
often used to preserve peace. The principal leader on the
part of the pro-slavery men was Mr. Atchison, United
States senator from Missouri, while James H. Lane and
John Brown were the leaders of the free State men.
During this time, armed emigrants came flocking in by
regiments from north and south, making claims on govern-
ment lands, and joining in the melee.

In 1857 the pro-slavery legislature provided for the elec-
tion of delegates to form a constitution, but with such test
oaths to the electors that the free State men refused to
vote. The free State men also called a constitutional con-
vention, and both parties adopted separate constitutions.
The pro-slavery party, in their constitution adopted in
November, 1857, expressly sanctioned slavery, and the
other constitution abolished it. The two went before Con-
gress. President Buchanan gave the whole force of his
administration for the admission of the State under the pro-
slavery, or Lecompton constitution, while Hon. S. A.
Douglas, senator from Illinois, the acknowledged author of
the Act making Kansas a territory, and of the doctrine of
" Squatter sovereignty," opposed the admission of the State

380 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

under any constitution, until that constitution had been sub-
mitted to a fair vote of the people of the territory, and rati-
fied by a majority. Senator Douglas and his associates
beat the administration in Congress ; and the pro-slavery, or
what was called the Lecompton constitution, was submitted
to a vote of the people of Kansas, and rejected by a large
majority.

The free State men thus learning their strength, rallied
at the next election for members of the legislature, and
secured a majority of that body. The next summer a new
convention was called, and, July 29, 1859, adopted a con-
stitution which they submitted to a vote of the people of
the territory, October 4th of the same year, who ratified it
by a large majority. This constitution for ever prohibited
slavery. It was submitted to Congress in December of the
same year; but Kansas was not admitted into the Union
until January 29th, 1861.

The repeal of the Missouri compromise line, and the
adoption of the " Squatter sovereignty" doctrine, by which
the people of the new territory were to determine for them-
selves, in their constitution, whether they would have
slavery or not, was a compromise between the northern and
southern democrats; but the South having been finally
beaten in the first experiment under the new doctrine,
repudiated the whole compromise, and denounced Senator
Douglas as an abolitionist. When he was nominated for
President in 1860, they brought forward Mr. Breckenridge,
thereby dividing the democratic party, and throwing the
election into the hands of Mr. Lincoln. Mr. Buchanan gave
the whole force of his administration against Mr. Douglas'
election, thus joining hands with the South. The rebellion
which followed in the spring of 1861, was the inevitable
result of the previous combinations, and Mr. Douglas and
his political friends could do nothing less than join Mr.
Lincoln and the republicans to put down the rebellion.
The northern supporters of Mr. Breckenridge having

NEBRASKA. 381

denounced Mr. Douglas and his political friends as aboli-
tionists, were now alarmed at their position, and many of
them overleaped the democratic party and landed in the
ranks of the abolitionists; while another portion became
southern sympathizers, called " copperheads." A few
returned to the democratic party, and joined against the
rebellion. The close of the civil war was the evidence of
the final death of slavery.

Kansas, by the Act of January 29th, 1861, received the
usual grants from Congress, of sections sixteen and thirty-
six in each township, for common schools; seventy-two
sections for a university ; ten sections for public buildings ;
twelve salt springs, with seventy -two sections of land ; and
five per cent, of the net proceeds of the sale of the public
lands in the State. The State is so new that the educational
interests are not fully developed ; and the breaking out of
the rebellion so soon after the admission of the State,
required all the energies of its inhabitants to protect their
lives and property. They suffered to a considerable extent
from rebel raids.

The progress of the State in population was very rapid,
in part owing to the excitement on the slavery question ;
and, by the census of 1860, while still a territory, it was
reported as having 107,206 inhabitants, of which only two
were slaves.

Kansas also showed a rapid advance in newspapers,
having, in 1860: Political, 3 daily and 21 weekly; and,
Miscellaneous, 3 weekly; total 27, with an aggregate
annual circulation of 1,565,540 copies.

NEBRASKA.

This State derives its name from one of its rivers, which,
in the Omaha dialect of the Winnebago, is said to mean
" spreading water," or " wide, shallow water."

It was organized as a territory by the " Nebraska Act,"

382 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

passed by Congress May 30th, 1854, as a part of the great
" Squatter Sovereignty Compromise ;" but as the slave-
holders did not attempt to colonize it, the territory was
suffered to settle according to the ordinary laws of emigra-
tion, and, in 1860, had only 28,841 inhabitants, while the
sister territory of Kansas numbered 107,206. The popula-
tion in 1867 was only estimated at 40,000.

The question of the admission of Nebraska as a State
was seriously agitated in 1863, and April 19th, the following
year, Congress passed an enabling Act. Under this Act a
convention was held, and a constitution framed, which was
ratified by the people by only 100 majority on a vote polled
of 7,776, June 2nd, 1866. This constitution was presented
to Congress, and on the 8th and 9th of February, 1867, an
Act was passed, under which the territory became a State,
March 1st, 1867, as recited in the following proclamation:

" The Admission of Nebraska — Proclamation of the Presi-
dent.

" WASHINGTON, March 1st, 1867.

" Whereas the Congress of the United States did, by an
Act approved on the 19th day of April, 1864, authorize the
people of the territory of Nebraska to form a constitution
and State government, and for the admission of such State
into the Union on an equal footing with the original States
upon certain conditions in said Act specified ; and whereas
said people did adopt a constitution conforming to the pro-
visions and conditions of said Act, and ask admission into
the Union ; and whereas the Congress of the United States
did, on the 8th and 9th days of February, 1867, in the
mode prescribed by the constitution, pass a further Act for
the admission of the State of Nebraska into the Union, in
which last named Act it was provided that it should not
take effect except upon like fundamental conditions that
within the State of Nebraska there should be no denial of

NEBRASKA. 383

the elective franchise, or of any other right to any person
by reason of race or color, except Indians not taxed ; and
upon the further fundamental condition that the legislature
of said State, by a solemn public Act, should declare the
assent of said State to the said fundamental condition, and
should transmit to the President of the United States an
authenticated copy of said Act of the legislature of said
State, upon receipt whereof the President, by proclamation,
should forthwith announce the fact, whereupon said funda-
mental condition should be held as a part of the organic law
of the State, and thereupon, and without any further pro-
ceedings on the part of Congress, the admission of said
State into the Union should be considered as complete ;
and whereas, within the time prescribed by said Act of
Congress of the 8th and 9th of February, 1867, the legis-
lature of the State of Nebraska did pass an Act ratifying
the said Act of Congress of the 8th and 9th of February,
1867, and declaring that the aforenamed provisions of the
third section of said last named Act of Congress should be
a part of the organic law of the State of Nebraska ; and
whereas a duly authenticated copy of said Act of the legis-
lature of the State of Nebraska has been received by me,

" Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
United States of America, do, in accordance with the pro-
visions of the Act of Congress last herein named, declare
and proclaim the fact that the fundamental conditions
imposed by Congress on the State of Nebraska to entitle
that State to admission to the Union have been ratified and
accepted, and that the admission of the said State into the
Union is now complete.

" In testimony whereof, I have hereto set my hand and
caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

" Done at the city of Washington, this first day of March,
in the year of our Lord 1867, and of the independence of
the United States of America the ninety-first.

" By the President: " ANDREW JOHNSON.

" WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State."

384 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

COLORADO TERRITORY.

The discovery of gold near " Pike's Peak," of the
Rocky mountains, attracted great numbers of miners to
that region, and Congress, February 28, 1861, granted them
a territorial government with the following boundaries :
" Commencing on the thirty-seventh parallel of north lati-
tude, where the twenty-fifth meridian of longitude west
from Washington crosses the same ; thence, north on said
meridian to the forty-first parallel of north latitude ; thence,
along said parallel, west to the thirty-second meridian of
longitude west from Washington ; thence, south on said
meridian, to the north line of New Mexico ; thence, along
the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude, to the place of
beginning."

The organic act for Colorado contained the usual pro-
visions made for other territories, and the government was
speedily put in operation.

The rapid settlement of the territory soon established the
necessity of a more permanent organization ; and, therefore,
March 21, 1864, Congress passed an act authorizing the
people of the territory to form a constitution preparatory to
their admission into the Union. A constitution was adopted,
but by so small a majority of the people, and the census of
the people being considerably less than was anticipated, the
new State had not been admitted up to June, 1867.

Population of the territory in 1860, 34,197.

DAKOTA TERRITORY.

The Indian traders, having been pressed back to the
upper Missouri by the advancing civilization, Congress
decided to give them a territorial government; and March
2, 1861, the territory of Dakota was organized, with the
following boundaries :

" Commencing at a point in the main channel of the Red

DAKOTA TERRITORY. 385

river of the north, where the forty -ninth degree of north
latitude crosses the same ; thence, up the main channel of
the same, and along the boundary of the State of Minnesota
to Big Stone Lake; thence, along the boundary line of the
said State of Minnesota, to the Iowa line ; thence, along
the boundary line of the State of Iowa to the point of
intersection between the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers ;
thence, up the Missouri river, and along the boundary line
of the territory of Nebraska, to the mouth of the Niobrara
or Running Water river ; thence, following up the same,
in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the mouth
of the Keha Paha or Turtle Hill river ; thence, up said river,
to the forty -third parallel of north latitude ; thence, due west,
to the present boundary of the territory of Washington ;
thence, along the boundary line of Washington territory, to
the forty-ninth degree of north latitude ; thence, east, along
said forty-ninth degree of north latitude, to the place of
beginning."

By another act of Congress, passed May 26, 1864, the
following additional territory was attached to Dakota:

" Commencing at a point formed by the intersection of
the thirtyrthird degree of longitude west from Washington
with the forty-first degree of north latitude ; thence, along
said thirty-third degree of longitude, to the crest of the
Rocky mountains ; thence, northward along said crest of the
Rocky mountains, to its intersection with the forty-fourth
degree and thirty minutes of north latitude ; thence, east-
ward, along said forty-fourth degree thirty minutes north
latitude, to the thirty-fourth degree of longitude west from
Washington ; thence, northward, along said thirty-fourth
degree of longitude, to its intersection with the forty-fifth
degree north latitude ; thence, eastward, along said forty-
fifth degree of north latitude, to its intersection with the
twenty-seventh degree of longitude west from Washington ;
thence, south, along said twenty-seventh degree of longi-
tude west from Washington, to the forty-first degree north
25

386 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

latitude ; thence, west, along said forty-first degree of lati-
tude, to the place of beginning, shall be, and is hereby,
incorporated temporarily into and made part of the territory
of Dakota."

The Sioux war, which broke out in 1862, has stopped the
settlement of the country, and up to the present time (June,
1867), the few white inhabitants are confined to the military
posts.

MONTANA TERRITOBY.

A new " gold fever " having taken possession of the
miners, a rush was made to the Rocky mountains, at the
head-waters of the Missouri, and the usual consequence of
the organization of a new territory followed. This act was
passed by Congress May 26, 1864, and gave the following
boundaries to the new territory of Montana :

" Commencing at a point formed by the intersection of
the twenty-seventh degree of longitude west from Wash-
ington with the forty-fifth degree of north latitude ; thence,
due west, on said forty-fifth degree of latitude, to a point
formed by its intersection with the thirty-fourth degree of
longitude west from Washington ; thence, due south, along
said thirty-fourth degree of longitude, to its intersection
with the forty-fourth degree and thirty minutes of north
latitude ; thence, due west, along said forty-fourth degree
and thirty minutes of north latitude, to a point formed by
its intersection with the crest of the Rocky mountains ;
thence, following the crest of the Rocky mountains north-
ward, till its intersection with the Bitter Root mountains ;
thence, northward, along the crest of said Bitter Root
mountains, to its intersection with the thirty-ninth degree
of longitude west from Washington ; thence, along said
thirty-ninth degree of longitude, northward to the boundary
line of the British possessions ; thence, eastward, along said
boundary line, to the twenty-seventh degree of longitude
west from Washington; thence, southward, along said

MONTANA TKEBITOEY. 387

twenty-seventh degree of longitude, to the place of begin-
ning."

This new region has received a considerable population,
but the Sioux war has greatly retarded its progress. It is
said, however, that the miners have been somewhat suc-
cessful in the collection of the precious metals.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE MISSISSIPPI, AND ITS NAVIGATION.

THE original discovery of the Mississippi was claimed by
nearly every new traveler who visited its shores at different
periods, for nearly one hundred and fifty years, each of
whom sought to immortalize some personal friend, or honor
some spiritual patron, by bestowing his or her name upon
this magnificent river. But who is entitled to the credit of
its discovery has been left in some doubt ; and in tracing
back the claims of La Salle, Hennepin, Marquette, De Soto,
and others, we are inclined to award the honor to Alvarez
Alonzo De Pineda, who, with four vessels, appears, in
Spanish history, to have sailed along the north coast of the
Gulf of Mexico, from Florida to Mexico, in 1519, and who
marked on the map of the expedition the mouth of a large
river from the north, which he named Rio Del Espiritu
Santo, or river of the Holy Ghost. Spanish history also
relates, that Pamphilo De Narvaez, with his adventurers
from Florida, having been abandoned by his fleet, attempted
to escape to Mexico in hastily constructed boats, and on the
way entered the mouth of a " very great river of sweet
water" from the north, in October, 1528.

But the history of the expedition of De Soto settles the
fact beyond a doubt, that that adventurer struck the
Mississippi in latitude about 34° north, on the 25th of
April, 1541. The historians of that expedition applied •
to the river the names of Saint Esprit, and Rio Grande^

THE MISSISSIPPI, AND ITS NAVIGATION. 389

but De La Vega stated, on the authority of Juan Coles, one
of De Soto's followers, that the Indian name was Chu-ca-gua,
and marked the river on the map of the expedition by that
name. The meaning of the Indian name was not given by
De La Vega, but the reader will discover a great similarity
between that word and Che-o-kah, the present Choctaw
word for " great water." Chu-ca-gua was the name applied
to the river on the French map of Sanson in 1674, following
the Spanish authority.

In the north, the Algonquin nations heard of " the great
river " from the 0-chunk-o-raws, of Green Bay, but under-
standing it as " the great water," which, according to their
knowledge, was salt ; they therefore named that tribe the
Winnebagoec, or " people of the sea." The early French
made the same mistake; hence Nicolet, in 1639, called the
same tribe the Gens De Mer, and the Rev. Father Le
Mercier, Jesuit Superior at Quebec, in a letter dated Sep-
tember 21, 1654, wrote that he had learned by " letters, that
it is only nine days' journey from this great lake (Green
Bay) to the sea that separates America from China."

In tracing the French explorations and discoveries, we
find the Rev. Father Claude Allouez, the Wisconsin Jesuit
missionary, near the head of Lake Superior, writing in his
journal, in 1665, of the Illinois Indians, whose " country is
more than sixty leagues from here, towards the south, and
beyond, a great river that discharges itself, as near as I can
conjecture, into the sea towards Virginia." In speaking of
the Nadouesioux, the same authority says : " This is a
tribe that dwells to the west of this, towards the great river
called Messipi."

After this, the Jesuit missionaries in the north-west often
wrote of the " Great river," arid the " Missisipi," until they
induced the Governor of Canada to fit out an expedition
specially for its exploration. This expedition was placed in
the charge of Sieur Jollyet, with the Rev. Father James
Marquette, then stationed at Mackinaw, as missionary and

'390 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

interpreter. It was organized early in 1673, at Mackinaw,
with bark canoes and five voyageurs^ and passed by way of
Green Bay and the Wisconsin river, and reached the great
river at Prairie Du Chien, June 17th, of the same year.
From that point they floated down this magnificent river,
visiting the several tribes on its banks, until they arrived at
the Arkansas river, when they turned back and reached
Mackinaw the same season, by way of the Illinois river and
Lake Michigan. Marquette was the historian of the expe-
dition, and named the great river " De la Conception" and
in explanation said : " Above all, I put our voyage under
the protection of the Blessed Virgin Immaculate, promising
her, that if she did us the grace to discover the great river,
I would give it the name of Conception."

Our next French explorer was the Rev. Father Louis
Hennepin, a Recollect missionary belonging to the party of
La Salle. He was dispatched by that officer from the fort
on the Illinois river with two companions in bark canoes,
and reached the great river, at the mouth of the Illinois,
March 8th, 1680. From thence they journeyed up the Missis-
sippi a few days, were then made prisoners by a war party
of the Sioux, and taken to Mille Lac, at the head of Rum
river. During the summer they were redeemed by Sieur
De Lut, who had reached the great river from Lake
Superior with a small guard of soldiers, and Hennepin and
companions were taken back to Mackinaw. Father Hen-
nepin, in his published journal, called the great river
" Colbert," in honor of Jean Baptiste Colbert, the Marquis
De Seignelai, who was then the French Secretary of Marine
and the Colonies.

The main expedition of the Cavalier Robert De La Salle,
which had been gotten up with great cost and labor to
thoroughly explore the great river, was long delayed by the
wreck of the supply ship, the " Griffin," and the revival of the
war between the Iroquois and the Illinois Indians ; and that
indomitable officer and his party only reached the great

THE MISSISSIPPI, AND ITS NAVIGATION. 391

river on the 6th of February, 1682. On the 13th of the
same month they launched their canoes on the mighty river,
and the 7th of the following month found La Salle recon-
noitering the shore of the Gulf of Mexico. On the 9th day of
April, 1682, La Salle took formal possession of the country
and rivers "in the name of the most high, mighty, invin-
cible, and victorious Prince, Louis the Great, by the grace
of God, king of France and Navarre, fourth of that name,"
etc. He called the country " Louisiana," in honor of his
prince, and the great river " River Colbert, or Mississippi."

As the name " Mississippi," of French orthography,
became finally established as the name of the great river,
and as that word has often been interpreted as meaning the
" Father of waters," we in this connection say that the
word is composed, in the Illinois dialect, of Michau, great,
and /Sippi, river; which the Chippeways contracted for
euphony to " Mississippi" of French, or " Mee-zee-see-bee"
of English orthography. Mr. Schoolcraft constructed the
word from the duplication of Miss, great, — meaning great-
great. In this construction, Mr. Schoolcraft forgets that in
another place in his history of the Indian tribes, he says
that the Chippeways use Michau, for great, when applied
to land or water. But if that tribe do sometimes use the
word Miss, for great, and Sippi, for river, the Chippeway
rules which he gives for euphony, — viz. : when two conson-
ants come together, a vowel must be inserted between the
syllables, — will explain the combination and make the word
Mis-si-sippi, or, in English orthography, Mee-zee-see-bee.

That the word simply means " great river," is strength-
ened by the fact that the same name has been given to it
by the other tribes ; for we find the river called J£ee-che-se-
be by the Ottawas, Me-chaw-se-poo by the Sacs, Foxes, and
Potowatomies, Pah-kah-poo-se-bee by the Menomonies, Ne-
coos-hut-ta-raw, by the Winnebagoes, and Wat-pah-tan-
kah by the Sioux. But we will pass from this subject to
the physical character of the great river.

392

UPPEIl MISSISSIPPI.

The Mississippi has its source in the numerous springs
that burst forth from the hauteurs de terre, or dividin
ridge between the Itasca lake and Red river, and flow into
that lake, where they become united, and start on their
tortuous course for the ocean. The Itasca lake is in lati-
tude 47° 13' K., and longitude 95° 2' west of Greenwich.

Table of Distances and Altitudes on the Mississippi, compiled by
Nicolet and Fremont.

Distance,

Altitude,

FROM THE GULF TO

miles.

feet.

New Orleans .....

104

i

Red River .....

340

76

Natchez light-house ....

406

86

Yazoo ....

534

Montgomery Landing -

755

202

New Madrid ....

i, "5

Ohio river .....

i, 216

324

Cape Girardeau ....

1*257

St. Genevieve .....

i,33o

Cathedral, St. Louis ...

1.390

334

Illinois river .....

1,426

Des Moines river ....

1-594

444

Montrose .....

1,609

Burlington - - - - -

1.639

Rock Island ....

1,722

526

Head Upper rapids - - - -

i>737

554

Dunleith .....

1,861

Prairie Du Chien - -

1.932

642

La Crosse -

2,014

Hammand's, Black river - -

2,035

683

Mt. Trempealeau ....

2,042

Roque's, Wabashaw . . -

2,084

Head Lake Pepin ...

2,115

7H

St. Croix river ....

2,150

723

St. Paul .....

2,186

Minnesota river ....

2.192

744

U. S. Cottage, St. Anthony ...

2,200

856

Rum river ...

2,219

Crow river .....

2,229

Watab river ....

2-305

Crow-wing river ....

2,381

1,130

Pine river - -

2,429

1,176

Sandy Lake river ....

2,526

i>253

Leach Lake river ....

2,675

i,356

Old trading house, Cass lake - - -

2,755

1,402

Schoolcraft I., Itasca lake ...

2,890

^575

Dividing ridge - - - - -

2,896

i, 680

THE MISSISSIPPI, AND ITS NAVIGATION. 393

By the foregoing table, it will be observed that the dis-
tance from Prairie Du Chien to Minnesota river is given at
two hundred and sixty miles, but on many steam-boat cards
it is put at three hundred and eight miles, a difference of
forty-eight miles. As great a discrepancy will probably be
found between other points.

The increase of the altitude on the river is too gentle to
impede the navigation, except at certain points, as follows :
The lower, or Des Moines rapids, are about eleven miles
long, with a fall of twenty -four feet; the upper, or Rock
river rapids are about fourteen miles long, with a fall,
according to Captain Lee, of about twenty-six feet. These
rapids are made by ledges of lime-rock passing under the
river, and are very difficult to pass at low water, even with
light steamers. The rapids from the mouth of St. Peter's,
or Minnesota river, to St. Anthony's falls are about eight
miles in length, and steamers can seldom go nearer than
within four miles of the falls. St. Anthony's falls are about
twenty feet perpendicular height. Above the falls, steamers
run to Sauk rapids, about seventy miles, in a good stage of
water, where steam navigation practically stops ; although,
in 1859, a small steamer passed the Sauk rapids and Little
falls, and reached nearly to the Falls of Pokegoma, a dis-
tance of three hundred and fifty miles above St. Anthony.
Canoe navigation reaches the Itasca lake by making port-
ages past the several falls.

The Mississippi, from Cairo to St. Anthony's falls, appears
to have scooped out itself a channel, averaging perhaps two
miles wide, and from one to four hundred feet deep, in the
otherwise comparatively level country ; thereby creating
the impression on the mind of the traveler that the Falls of
St. Anthony might have originally been below St. Louis,
but rapidly receding by the disintegration of the sand rocks
until it reached its present site. Indeed, the falls are known
to be still traveling up stream, but as the strata of sandstone
25*

394 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

has nearly run out, it is supposed that its locomotion will
nearly, if not quite, cease at the end of the next mile.

But the great river, being unable to hold the position
whicn it had assumed in its rampant days, finally subsided
into a main channel, about half a mile wide, with other
smaller channels, called sloughs, leaving much of the two
miles or more in width, to emerge from the water, and the
higher portions to form sandy prairies for town sites and
cultivated fields, while the lower portions form timbered
bottoms and islands. At Lake Pepin, however, the rampant
river, being pressed nearer together by two opposite flinty
promontories, ploughed deeper in the earth, and scooped
out a beautiful lake about twenty-two miles long, which still
holds its own, and has become classical with Indian legends.
Indeed, we believe the Roman calendar of saints might be
doubled, if proper research were made among the Indian
legends of the north-west.

Below the mouth of the Ohio river, the main channel
does not much exceed half a mile in width, but increases in
depth, and the timbered bottoms often extend thirty miles
before the higher table land is reached.

The rise and fall of the water of the Mississippi, above
the Missouri, is generally periodical. The first high water
of the year is in the spring, soon after the clearing out of
the ice, and usually commences about the second week in
April, and subsides by the middle of May. The second
high water is called the " June rise," and commences about
the first of June, and extends into July. The first rise of
water is caused by the melting of the snow and ice in the
first warm weather in the spring ; while the " June rise " is
caused in the same manner, when the warm weather of
summer penetrates into the cold, swampy, timbered country
on the head-waters of the Mississippi, Rum, St. Croix, Chip-
peway, Black, and Wisconsin rivers, where the snow falls
deep in winter, and remains until the heat of the summer is
somewhat advanced. There are exceptions to the general

THE MISSISSIPPI, AND ITS NAVIGATION. 395

rule, as in 1852, when the month of April being unusually
warm, the heat penetrated the icy swamps of the hyper-
borean regions, creating in May the highest flood for several
years. The consequence was, that we tailed to get the
"June Rise." Seasons like 1863 sometimes occur when
but little snow falls in the winter, and the spring and
summer floods both fail. Local floods may occur from
heavy rains, but these seldom extend far enough to much
aifect the Mississippi.

In the annals of the country, we find notices of great
floods, the first of which, in April, 1728, flooded the French
Fort Beauharnais, on the north side of Lake Pepin, which
the Sioux said was the highest water they ever knew. Mr.
Nicolet, speaking of the flood of 1785, said:

"This year is called Vannee de grands eaux — the year
of the great flood. In the month of April, the waters of the
Mississippi rose fifteen or twenty feet above the highest
mark they had ever been kno\vn to reach at St. Louis, and
at some narrow parts of the river, as high as thirty feet.
The whole region of country drained by the Mississippi, to
its mouth, presented the aspect of an immense sheet of water
studded with islands. The village of St. Genevieve, Fort
Chartres, Kaskaskia, St. Phillippe, Cahokia, etc., were
totally submerged ; and the inhabitants, who had fled to the
hills that overlooked the rich bottoms, interchanged visits
by water from the rocky bluff's of the right side of the river
to the hills that border the Kaskaskia."

The great flood of 1826 was the highest of more modern
times in the upper country ; the water at Prairie Du Chien
reaching twenty-six feet above low water. The flood of 1832
was eighteen feet at the same place, and in 1852 the water
rose sixteen feet at La Crosse. In 1835 the flood reached
fifty-two feet at Natchez. But the height to which a flood
may reach in any given place, of course depends on the
width of the river bottoms at such place, and the same
flood will reach different heights at different localities.

396 TTPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

The depth of the river at low water, except on the bars,
between Dunleith and St. Paul, is about twelve feet, and on
the bars often less than three feet. In passing below Dun-
leith, the water does not increase much in depth until it
receives the accession of the Missouri, when it seems to
take new impetus, and rushes on boldly to the ocean. At
New Orleans, the river, at low water, is about one hundred
and thirteen feet deep. We can not give the depth of water
at Memphis, but there is nothing visible of the confederate
fleet of war steamers sunk there June 6, 1862, by the United
States gun-boats, but majestic steamers now sweep along,
meeting with no obstructions from the bristling gun-boats,
or tall smoke chimneys, silent as death in the depths below.

First among the tributaries of the Mississippi, for its
usefulness and beauty, stands the Ohio. As the warlike
Iroquois floated down its gentle current, watching for spoils
along its flowery banks, and seeking enemies on whom he
might revenge a lost relative, he became absorbed in the
magnificent scenery, and shouted his ecstatic O-ee-o, O-ee-o.
The French took up the word, clothed it in its modern
orthography, and translated it "La Belle." The English
have retained the French orthography, and render the word,
" The Beautiful j " and beautiful, indeed, it is in song and
story ; and beautiful will it remain until the iron hoof of
time shall wear out its earthy cradle, or its mountain sources
shall be dried up.

This river was first visited at its mouth by Marquette, in
1673 ; but he mistook it for the Wabash, and probably his
Illinois interpreter only knew of the Wabash, and not of
the Ohio.

" The Beautiful " river has its western source in Chatau-
que lake, not distant seven miles from Lake Erie, with an
altitude above the latter lake of about seven hundred feet,
and above tide water of thirteen hundred feet. The eastern,
or Alleghany mountain source, is near Coudersport, Penn-
sylvania. According to C. Ellet, Jr., Esq., civil engineer,

THE MISSISSIPPI, AND ITS NAVIGATION.

397

the distances and fall of the river to the Gulf of Mexico are
as follows :

Distances and Altitudes on the Ohio River.

Distance

Pall in

in miles.

feet.

Coudersport to Olean Point

40

246

Olean Point to Warren

SO

216

Warren to Franklin - -

7°

227

Franklin to Pittsburg

130

261

Pittsburg to Beaver -

26

30

Beaver to Wheeling -

62

49

Wheeling to Marietta -

90

49

Marietta to Le Tart's Shoals

31

16

Le Tart's Shoals to Kanawha -

55

33

Kanawha to Portsmouth

94

48

Portsmouth to Cincinnati

105

42

Cincinnati to Evansville ...

328

112

Evansville to Gulf

1.365

320

Coudersport to Gulf— Total

2,446

1,649

By an examination of this table, it will be seen that the
fall from Olean Point to Pittsburg, in low water, is on an
average, about two feet ten inches per mile ; from Pittsburg
to Evansville, about five and two-tenths inches per mile, and
from Evansville to Gulf, about two and eight-tenths inches
per mile. As steamboats, in high water, have been as high
as Olean Point, it will be observed that they are capable of
overcoming a fall of four feet and four inches per mile, as
that is the average fall between that point and Warren.

Itasca lake, the source of the Mississippi, having an alti-
tude above the Gulf of 1,575 feet, and Olean Point of 1,403
feet, it will be observed that steam navigation on the Ohio
has already reached an altitude within 172 feet of the main
source of the Mississippi.

The greatest flood of the Ohio known, occurred in
February, 1832, when the river attained a height of thirty-
one feet at Pittsburg, forty-four and one-half at Wheeling,
and sixty-three at Cincinnati, above its summer level. This

398

UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

flood reached its highest mark along the river, at the follow-
ing dates: Pittsburg, February 10; Wheeling, 88 miles,
February 11, in evening; Marietta, 176 miles, February 13,
at noon; Maysville, 405 miles, February 16, at night; Cin-
cinnati, 460 miles, February 17, at midnight ; and Louisville,
613 miles, February 21, in morning. By this statement, it
appears that the flood moved from Pittsburg to Cincinnati
at the rate of about two and one-half miles an hour, a
velocity much less than the center current of the river at
high water.

The Missouri river, called by the Algonquins, Pekitanoui,
or Muddy water, and by Father Membre, the " Ozage
river," is next to the Ohio in its present commerce, but as
its valley settles up with emigrants, it will increase with
great rapidity, and possibly rival the Mississippi itself.

The following are the distances from the Gulf of Mexico,
and altitudes above tide water, of the several points here-
after named, as given by Mr. Nicolet and others :

Distances and Altitudes on the Missouri river.

Distance

Altitude

FROM GULF TO

in miles.

in feet.

Mouth Missouri -----

1,408

388

Boonville -

1,604

530

Fort Leavenworth - - - -

1,820

746

Platt River - - - - -

2,O26

Council Bluffs - - - - -

2,084

1,024

Fort Pierre -

•2,664

1,456

Fort Union - - - - -

3>277

2,019

Fort Benton - - - - -

3,805

2,780

Highwood Creek -

3,820

Great Falls - - - - -

3,835

Cadott's Pass, Rocky mountains

3,9°3

6,044

Sources Missouri

4,3oo

These facts show that the Missouri is nearly 1,410 miles
longer than the Mississippi, and that it is already navigated
to an altitude about 1,225 feet above Itasca lake, the main
source of the latter river.

THE MISSISSIPPI, AND ITS NAVIGATION. 399

The late Governor Stevens said, in his report on the
Pacific Railroad route, that the Missouri had been navi-
gated to Fort Union for the last thirty years, by steamers
carrying five hundred to six hundred tons freight, and
drawing from three to four feet of water; that such
steamers had often ascended as high as Milk river; and
that steamers of two hundred tons burthen can easily go as
high as Highwood creek, within fifteen miles of the Great
falls.

The Great falls extend eleven and a half miles, with five
principal cascades, with rapids between, with a total
descent of one hundred and sixty feet. The principal cas-
cades descend successively twenty-five, five, forty-two,
twelve, and seventy-six feet. The three principal forks of
the Missouri above the falls are called Gallatin, Madison,
and JeiFerson, and have their several sources in the Rocky
mountains far to the south of the Great falls.

The' clay mud that colors the Missouri, as well as the
Mississippi after the junction of the two, is mainly derived
from the Yellow Stone, a tributary that forms a junction
with the Missouri at Fort Union. It is a stream of some
importance, and is reported navigable for two hundred
miles.

The other principal tributaries of the Mississippi are the
Red, Arkansas, Illinois, Des Moines, Rock, Wisconsin,
Iowa, Black, Chippeway, St. Croix, and Minnesota. The
first two named are each understood to be navigable over
1,000 miles by steamers. The number of miles the Missis-
sippi and its tributaries are navigable by steamboats has
been variously estimated at from 10,000 to 15,000 miles,
while the keel-boat navigation is much more extensive.

The late Hon. Thomas H. Benton, in his letter to the
Chicago convention, dated June 10th, 1847, on this subject
remarked : " Many years ago the late Governor Clark and
myself undertook to calculate the extent of the boatable
water in the valley of the Mississippi ; we made it about

400 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

50,000 miles, of which 30,000 were computed to unite above
St. Louis, and 20,000 below. Of course, we counted all the
infant streams on which a flat, a keel, or a batteau could be
floated, and justly; for every tributary of the humblest
beatable character helps to swell not only the volume of the
central waters but of the commerce upon them."

The original canoe of the Indian was superseded by the
batteaux of the early French voyageurs. The Spanish often
used galleys of forty oars each in navigating the Mississippi,
ten of which came from New Orleans to St. Louis with
troops in 1797. The early settlers of the Mississippi valley
for many years carried their produce and stock to market,
at New Orleans, in large, flat-bottom boats and arks, that
floated down the river with no other propelling power than
the ordinary current. The batteaux are now commonly
called the Mackinaw boats, and carry from three-quarters
to three tons. The flat bottoms are often called barges, and
carry from thirty to one hundred tons. The writer has no
data from which he can tell the number of tons burthen of
the flat-bottom boat originally navigated by our illustrious
late President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.

At the period of the introduction of steamers on the Mis-
sissippi, in 1812, the whole commerce from New Orleans to
the upper country was transported in about twenty barges,
making but one trip each year. The number of keel boats
on the Ohio was about one hundred and sixty. The total
tonnage, from 6,000 to 7,000 tons.

The first steamboat in the Mississippi valley was built at
Pittsburg, and launched in October, 1811, called the " New
Orleans." It was run to Louisville, where it was detained
by low water for some three weeks, and in the mean time
made several trips to Cincinnati. The last week in Novem-
ber it resumed its trip down the river, was nearly over-
whelmed by an earthquake, but finally reached Natchez at
the close of the first week in January, 1812. Having been
built to run between Natchez and New Orleans, it probably

THE MISSISSIPPI, AND ITS NAVIGATION. 401

run on that line, and was said to have been of service to
General Jackson at the great battle at New Orleans, January
8th, 1815, but evidently did not attract much attention, as
some have doubted its ever reaching the Mississippi, and
have dated the commencement of steam navigation on the
Mississippi in 1817.

Eleven other steamers were built on the Ohio in the five
years following 1811, with a total tonnage of 2,235.

The first steamboat which arrived at St. Louis was in
1819. The first steamer to St. Peter's river was the " Vir-
ginia," one hundred and eighteen feet long, and drawing
six feet of water, which arrived in May, 1823, with Major
Taliafero, our Indian agent, and Count Beltrami, as passen-
gers. From this period they began to increase rapidly. In
1834 the number of steamers on the Mississippi and tribu-
taries was two hundred and thirty, with a tonnage of
39,000. In 1840, two hundred and eighty-five, with a ton-
nage of 49,800. In 1845, the tonnage had increased to
159,713.

According to the report of the Treasury department of
the United States for the year ending June 30th, 1859, the
enrolled tonnage in steam navigation in the several districts
in the Mississippi valley was as follows :

Tonnage.

New Orleans - - - - - 57?79O

Nashville ..... 5,120

Memphis ..... 7,926

Louisville ..... 29,627

St. Louis ..... 54,515

Galena ...... 5,362

Cincinnati ..... 25,683

Wheeling ..... 13,480

Pittsburg ..... 40,550

Total tonnage of steamers - - - 258,053

When we add the tonnage of other vessels, the total at
each point is as follows :
26

402

New Orleans

Nashville

Memphis

Louisville -

St. Louis

Galena

Cincinnati

Wheeling

Pittsburg

UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Total of tonnage

Tonnage.
2I5>4I7

5,120

7,926
29,627

60,760

5*362
29.515

- 13,480
55.576

- 422,783

From this it appears that the most of the ship and canal-
boat building is confined to Pittsburg, Cincinnati, St. Louis,
and New Orleans. This latter city being connected with
the commerce of the ocean, does nearly twice the amount
of ship building that it does of steamboat building.

The report of the Treasurer does not give the number of
steamers enrolled ; but it is estimated in the report of 1851,
on the colonial and lake trade, that the Ohio boats average
about 206^- tons ; and those on the Mississippi and Missouri,
273f- tons. If we average them at 240 tons, we have 1,075
steamboats running on the Mississippi and its tributaries,
with a total tonnage of 258,053 for the year 1859.

The boats manufactured the same year are given as
follows :

t

0 «

t

•

a

of a

to

«

0

8*

s

a

4

£ Q

•2

o

GO a

•

o

Pittsburg -

8

29

4,588

Wheeling ...

H

1,511

Cincinnati - - - -

I

20

15

6,999

Louisville -

19

3,702

Paducah -

i

114

Galena ...

i

153

St. Louis -

2

154

New Orleans - - -

10

2

2

795

Total

II

30

83

18,016

THE MISSISSIPPI, ANI> ITS NAVIGATION. 403

By this statement it appears that all the schooners but
one were built at New Orleans, and that nearly one-third
of the steamers were manufactured at Pittsburg, one-sixth
at Wheeling, over one-sixth at Cincinnati, over one-fourth
at Louisville, and only one fortieth at either St. Louis or
New Orleans. Also, that most of the steamers were built
on the Ohio, and of a much less tonnage than the previous
average.

The progress of steam navigation on the upper Mississippi
was extremely slow at first. From 1823 to 1844, only one
or two trips a year were made to Fort Snelling, to carry
supplies to the troops, and for the Indian trade. In 1844,
the number of arrivals at the fort were forty-one. From
1844 to 1847, the little steamers Otter, Rock River, and
Lynx, were the principal boats in this trade.

In 1847, on the 8th day of July, the Galena and Minne-
sota Packet Company was organized at Galena by the
following persons, who became the company :

Captain Orrin Smith, Galena ; Henry Corwith, Galena ;
B. H. Campbell, Galena; Captain M.W. Lodwick, Galena;
Captain R. Blakesly, Galena; Colonel H. L. Dousman,
Prairie Du Chien ; B. W. Brisbois, Prairie Du Chien ; Hon.
H. H. Sibley, St. Paul ; Hon. H. M. Rice, St. Paul.

The first boat purchased by this company was the
"Argo," of only sixty tons burthen, which was run in the
St. Paul trade until October of the same year, when it ran
against a snag, and sunk a little above Winona.

The next boat was the " Dr. Franklin," purchased the
winter of 1847-48 for $13,500, and put into the trade in the
spring of 1848. In 1849 the " Senator" was added to the
line, but in the fall was sold, and replaced by the "Nomi-
nee," which was run by Captain O. Smith, the late president
of the company. It was not run as a Sunday boat. At
twelve o'clock Saturday night, Captain Smith would tie up
his boat to an island, or whatever place he was near, and
remain until twelve o'clock Sunday night. When the boat

404 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

stopped at a little village, the Captain would invite any
clergyman that might be found, to preach, on the Sabbath,
on the boat. Rev. Mr. Chester, of the Methodist church,
once enjoyed the Captain's hospitality at La Crosse, in the
fall of 1851, and held morning service. The "Nomenee,"
however, suffered the fate of its more unchristian brothers,
and was snagged and sunk in the fall of 1854, forty miles
below La Crosse.

The " Ben Campbell" was built in the winter of 1851-62,
and put in the trade in the spring, but drew too much water,
and was sold in the fall of 1852. During the season of 1852,
an opposition boat, called the " West Newton," was put
into the trade from Galena to St. Paul, by the Harrises of
Galena, and run against the Nominee. The " West New-
ton " was a gallant little boat, and about an equal match for
the Nominee. During this opposition, on the 10th of May,
1852, the Nominee, Captain Smith, prepared for a race to
St. Paul, and although the " West Newton " did not run,
yet Captain Smith run on time, and made the trip to St.
Paul and back to Galena in two days, seven hours and
forty-nine minutes — a round trip of eight hundred miles.
In the fall of the same year, the Harrises were permitted to
join the Galena company, and their boat afterwards run in
the line.

In the spring of 1854, the " War Eagle," " Galena," and
"Royal Arch," were added to the line, and in 1855, the
" Golden Era," "Alhambra," " Lady Franklin," and " City
Bell," were added.

In June, 1856, the opening of the Galena and Chicago
Union Railroad gave a great impetus to the business,
and the packet company added to their line of boats the
" Northern Bell," " Ocean Wave," " Granite State," " Greek
Slave," and " Black Hawk."

Several boats besides the "Nominee" were sunk during
this time: namely, "West Newton," in the fall of 1853,
near Alma; "Dr. Franklin," seven miles above Dubuque, by

THE MISSISSIPPI, AND ITS WAVIGATION. 405

colliding with the "Galena," in June, 1854. In 1856, the
" Galena " was burned.

Trade fell off considerably in 1858, and subsequently, but
in 1861 the packet company increased its number of incor-
porators to about one hundred, and its capital to $400,000,
and run the following boats in the upper trade :

" War Eagle," " Alhambra," " City Bell," " Fanny Har-
ris," "Northern Light," "Key City," "Northern Bell,"
" Golden Era," " Ocean Wave," " Flora," " Grey Eagle,"
" Milwaukee," " Itasca."

Some of these boats were of the first class, and might
well have been called " floating palaces."

The " Milwaukee " cost the company $39,000 ; " Grey
Eagle," $43,000; and the "Key City," and "Northern
Light," each about the same.

The "Key City" was built at Cincinnati, in 1857, was
250 feet long, 35 feet wide, 359f f tons burthen, 51 state-
rooms, and four high-pressure boilers, 17 feet long, 38 inches
in diameter, and have been subject to a pressure of 200
pounds to the square inch. The " War Eagle " and " Ga-
lena," were of a smaller class of boats, the former being but
296^ tons burthen, with 46 state-rooms, and 3 high-pressure
boilers, 14 feet long each. It^is 219 feet long, and 29 feet
wide, and was built at Cincinnati, in the winter of 1853-54.

The Galena Packet Company finally reorganized in Feb-
ruary, 1864, under the laws of the State of Iowa, with a
cash capital of $400,000, under the name of " The North-
western Packet Company," with general powers to run
steamers, and do a passenger and freight business between
Dubuque and St. Paul. The company was bound by con-
tract with the Milwaukee and Prairie Du Chien Railroad
Company, to carry freight and passengers for that company
between the latter place and St. Paul.

In the fall of 1865, the North-western Company were
running the following steamers in the trade : " Milwau-
kee," "Itasca," "Northern Light," "Key City," "War

406 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Eagle ; " all first-class passenger steamers. They also run
three light-draught boats for low water, and three additional
steamers for freight and towing barges.

The officers of the new company for 1865 were: John
Lawler, President ; George A. Blanchard, Secretary and
Treasurer ; and William E. Wellington, Superintendent.
The central office was located at Dubuque, where the two
latter gentlemen resided.

On the first day of October, 1858, the La Crosse and
Milwaukee Railroad was completed, and opened through to
the Mississippi at La Crosse, and much of the business of
the boats passed over this road.

In 1860, an independent, or opposition, line of steamboats
was run from La Crosse to St. Paul, by Mr. Davidson and
others, which the Galena Packet Company made a spirited
but unsuccessful effort to run off; failing in this, they com-
promised, by forming with Davidson and others, a combina-
tion, on the 17th of August, 1861, which has since done a
large business.

In 1863, the La Crosse and St. Paul line ran in connec-
tion with the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad, the fol-
lowing boats :

" McLellan," Captain P. S. Davidson ; " Keokuk," Cap-
tain J. R. Hatcher ; " Northern Bell," Captain John Coch-
ran ; " Frank Steele," Captain Martin ; " Clara Hine,"
Captain J. Newton ; " G. H. Wilson," Captain William
Butler ; ".<Eolian," Captain Sencerbox.

Running above the Falls of St. Anthony, "Anne Cutler,"
" Enterprise," and " Gray Cloud."

Running on the Chippewa river : " John Rumsey,"
Captain Nathaniel Harris ; " Chippewa Falls," Captain L.
Fulton.

Running on the St. Croix : " Wenona," Captain L.
Brown.

Running on the Minnesota : " Pomeroy," Captain Bell ;

• THE MISSISSIPPI, AND ITS NAVIGATION. 407

" Stella Whipple," Captain Haycock ; "Albany,*' Captain
Norris ; — in all, 1 6.

These boats were all light-draught, and were seldom
stopped by low water, although the low water of 1863 was
extremely embarrassing. Nearly the same steamers were
running in 1865*

The combination of the steamboat interest proving unsatis-
factory, the new North-western Packet company and the La
Crosse line, generally called " Davidson's Line," on the 1st
of May, 1866, consolidated into a new company, under the
general laws of the State of Iowa, at Dubuque, and organ-
ized a company which they called the " North-western
Union Packet Company," and elected the following officers :
William F. Davidson, of St. Paul, president ; John Lawler,
of Prairie Du Chien, general manager; Geo. A. Blanchard,
of Dubuque, secretary; William Rhodes, of St. Paul,
treasurer ; and William E. Wellington, of Dubuque, and
P. S. Davidson, La Crosse, superintendents.

The general office of the company is located at Dubuque,
Iowa; and the company organized with a capital of
$1,500,000, and put immediately into the trade thirty
steamers and seventy-three barges. The officers are men
of character and great energy, and the company will be a
power that will be felt for good or evil.

The following table will show the time of the opening
and closing of navigation at St. Paul, Minnesota, the
number of arrivals at that point per year, and the length of
the season of navigation :

408 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Date of Opening and Closing Navigation at St. Paul.

First Boat.

River Closed.

'c'a

<!

Length of
Season.

o v>

6§
£«

Tonnage.

1844, April 6
184';, " 6..

Nov. 23
" 26

41
48

23I
274

1846, March 31 ....

Dec. 5

24-

24-s

1847, April 7
1848, 7

l84Q, Q. .

Nov. 29
Dec. 4

7 . .

47
63

or

236
241

24.2

2

240

1850, IQ

4

IO4

22O

1851, 4
18:52, 16

Nov. 8
18

II9

171

218
216

18^7,, ii ..

TO . .

2OO

277

i8c4, 8. .

27 . .

2^6

227

l8^» 17. .

2O

r6o

217

1856, 18

IO

8C7

212

1857, May i

1,026

198

1858, March 25.

1C

1. 068

276

62

I2.7O1

1859, April 19

27 . .

808

222

rr

1860, March 28

27

77 r

24O

l8,27Q

1861, April 8

26

n-?7

271

From this table, compiled from the " Statistics of Minne-
sota," it appears that from 1844 to 1861, inclusive, the
shortest season was in 1857, from May 1st to November
14th, of one hundred and ninety-eight days; and that the
longest season was in 1846, from March 31st to December
5th, of two hundred and forty-five days' navigation; and
that the average tonnage of the boats, in 1858, was nearly
two hundred and five tons.

The steamboat business at St. Paul was divided with
different points, as indicated by the arrivals for 1861, as
follows :

From Pittsburg

" St. Louis

" Dunleith

" La Crosse

" Fox lake

" Minnesota river

" Stillwater

4 arrivals.

99 "

- 236
273

- 3 "
318 «

THE MISSISSIPPI, AND ITS NAVIGATION. 409

According to the census return for 1850, the total popu-
lation of the Unite'd States was 23,191,876, arid was divided
as follows :

Pacific slope - - ... 117,271

Mississippi valley - 8,641,7154

Atlantic slope 12,729,859

Gulf slope - 1,702,992

The full returns of the census of 1860 have not yet been
published according to the geographical divisions ; but if
we take the ratio from 1840 to 1850, we shall find that the
Mississippi valley in 1860 had a population of about
13,000,000.

In the compendium of the census for 1850, published by
the United States, the States and territories are put down
at 2,936,166 square miles, and are divided as follows :

Pacific slope - - 766,002

Atlantic slope, - ... 514,416

Northern lake and Red R. region - - 112,649

Gulf region ..... 325,1537

Mississippi valley .... 1,217,562

Total - 2,936,166

From this statement it will be seen that over two-fifths
of the whole territory of the United States is drained by
the waters of the Mississippi and its tributaries ; and if we
add to this the Gulf region, and the Lake and Red River
region, we shall have nearly three-fifths of the entire terri-
tory of the United States. By comparing this central
region with Europe, we find that it exceeds all the balance
of Europe after taking out Russia and Portugal.

The acclivity of the surface, east, west, and north of tho
Mississippi, is so gentle, as neither to affect the navigation
of the tributaries, nor impede the cultivation of the soil ;
while the southern portion is not too warm, or the northern
too cold, to effect more than to give a variety to the
26*

410 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

vegetable productions. Upon its varied soil may be grown
nearly every article necessary for the comfort of man, and
its inexhaustible grain fields have become almost the
granary of the world.

In its mineral productions it is on quite as grand a scale.
Gold and silver are abundant along a large part of the
eastern slope of the Rocky mountains ; iron rises into hills
in Missouri, Michigan, and Wisconsin ; lead underlies large
districts in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri ; copper
and zinc are abundant, and gypsum is generally dissemi-
nated in every State and territory ; and in the south-west,
on the head waters of the Red and Arkansas rivers, it
occupies a region of more than 2,000 square miles.

Salt is found in springs in most of the valleys, and as rock
salt in Missouri, and at the bottom of the salt wells in Ohio.

Coal exists in vast quantities in every State and territory
except Wisconsin and Minnesota. Along the head waters
of the Missouri and its western tributaries, nearly to the
Gulf, it is believed to exist in greater quantities than at any
other locality on the globe.

Coal oil, which is now attracting so much attention, is
found in south-eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and
north-western Virginia. The most extensive and produc-
tive deposit now known is on the Little Kanawha, about
thirty miles above Parkersburg. In this locality, four hundred
barrels are said to have run out of one well in five hours.

But the writer need not enlarge upon the natural advan-
tages which the great Creator has congregated in this lovely
valley of the Mississippi for the benefit of man. However,
as numerous as they are, but few of them can be enjoyed to
advantage unless the navigation of the Mississippi and its
tributaries are free from the control of the enemies of the
people who inhabit the valley. No divided authority can
control the great interest here involved for any length of
time. It must and will be under one government.

The great southern statesman, Hon. John C. Calhoun,

THE MISSISSIPPI, AND ITS NAVIGATION. 411

speaking on this subject in his report to the United States
Senate, on the 26th of January, 1846, on the subject of the
resolutions of the Memphis convention, remarked : " So
urgent, indeed, is the necessity of a common power to regu-
late its commerce, that it may be safely affirmed that it
would require a confederation among the States on its
borders for that purpose, as the only means of preserving
peace, and preventing the most deadly conflicts among
them ; destructive alike of their commerce and prosperity,
had not the constitution divested the States of the power,
and delegated it to the federal government."

The free navigation of the Mississippi early attracted the
attention of the government of the United States. By the
ordinance of 1787, Congress declared that "the navigable
waters leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and
the carrying places between the same, shall be common
highways and for ever free, as well to the inhabitants of the
said territory as to the citizens of the United States, and
those of any other State that may be admitted into the con-
federacy, without any tax, duty, or impost therefor." -

Again, in 1788, Congress "Resolved that the free navi-
gation of the river Mississippi is a clear and essential right
of the United States."

The constitution, also, virtually declares that the naviga-
tion of this river shall be free, when it says, " Vessels bound
to or from one State shall not be obliged to enter, clear, or
pay duties in another."

By a treaty with Spain of the 27th of October, 1795,
during Washington's administration, Spain finally granted
to the United States the free navigation of the river.

October 1st, 1800, Spain ceded Louisiana to France, and,
October 16th, 1802, the intendant, Morales, closed the port
of New Orleans to our commerce. Finally, April 30th,
1803, the United States, being aware of the difficulties
existing if the lower portion of the Mississippi continued
under the control of a foreign government, by a treaty at

412 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

Paris, purchased Louisiana for $15,000,000, and thereby
secured the undisputed navigation of the Mississippi and
all its tributaries, from their sources to the Gulf of Mexico ;
and Governor Clairborne, of Mississippi, and General Wil-
kinson, of the United States army, took possession of New
Orleans December 20th of the same year, and upper
Louisiana was surrendered to Major Amos Stoddard, at St.
Louis, March 10th, 1804.

The Memphis convention, before alluded to, which was
held the 12th of November, 1845, and composed of five
hundred and eighty-three delegates, " Resolved, That safe
communication between the Gulf of Mexico and the interior,
afforded by the navigation of the Mississippi and Ohio
rivers, and their principal tributaries, is indispensable to
the defence of the country in time of war, and essential also
to its commerce."

The following remarks from " De Bow's Review," on this
subject, are also very pertinent : " The free and uninter-
rupted navigation of these great inland waters must, of
course; be a matter of prime interest to the country. They
are to the populous nations on their banks, as the ocean
itself, over which commerce, not kings, presides. No con-
struction of State powers as contradistinguished from
Federal, can exclude these arteries of trade from the pale
of government regard and protection."

To those who have their homes located in the upper Mis-
sissippi valley, the free navigation of the Mississippi to the
Gulf becomes of paramount importance. They think that
no flag save that of our Union should be permitted to wave
over 1,200 miles of this great highway between them and
the ocean, demanding tribute of our commerce, much less
should that tribute be paid to a fraction of the Union, inas-
much as the free navigation was purchased with the joint
funds of the whole nation ; and the late pressure from the
north-west upon the great southern rebellion, has demon-

THE MTSSISSIPri, AND ITS NAVIGATION.

413

strated that they do not intend to be misunderstood on this
question.*

Since the close of the war, the subject of the improve-
ment of the navigation of the Mississippi and its tributaries
has again revived, and an important convention was held at
St. Louis, February 13th, 1867, to consider that subject.
The committee on resolutions were the following prominent
gentlemen : Indiana, Charles H. Mekin, A. F. Wemple ;
Pennsylvania, R. C. Gray, Joseph Knapp; Minnesota, E.

D. Williams, W. D. Washburn ; Illinois, William Eggleston,
O. C. Skinner; Tennessee, W. B. Grau, H. Hiner; Ohio,
Theo. Cook, A. D. Geshern ; Wisconsin, R. C. Libby, Major

E. Paine ; Missouri, Judge Samuel Treat, James B. Earls ;
Louisiana, W. JefF. Thompson, E. B. Briggs ; Kentucky,
R. H. Watford, B. C. Live ; Michigan, J. C. Joy, A. W.
Copeland ; Iowa, General H. L. Reed, H. W. Starr.

This committee reported the following, which were
adopted by the convention :

" Resolved, That the interests of the whole Mississippi
valley require the immediate improvement by the national
government of the Mississippi river from the Belize to the
Falls of St. Anthony, including especially the bar at the
Belize, the upper and lower rapids, and the removal of the
obstructions above these rapids ; and also the Ohio river,
from Cairo to Pittsburg, and especially the work at the falls
of the Ohio ; said improvements to secure the navigation
of said rivers free from all tolls or tribute.

" Resolved, That the vast importance of such action as
will secure the needed improvements at an early day of the
following rivers is commended to the favorable and earnest
consideration of Congress, viz. : The Missouri river, from

* NOTE. — The north-western States furnished the following num-
ber of soldiers for the Union army of the gre.at rebellion :

Ohio 3l7,13o Kansas

Indiana 105,147 Illinois 25SJ21T

Wisconsin 96,1 18 [Michigan 90,119

Minnesota 25,034) Missouri 108,773

0,097 Iowa 75,860

Total 1,186,498

4l4 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

the mouth of Fort Benton, the Illinois river, the Red river,
the Tennessee river to Chattanooga, the Wisconsin river to
the Fox river, the Arkansas river to Fort Smith, and the
Cumberland river to Nashville.

" Resolved, That when the financial condition of the
country may justify, Congress be requested to cause proper
investigations to be made as to the necessity of improving
hereafter all the other rivers of the Mississippi valley.

" Resolved, That Congress should so legislate on the sub-
ject of bridging the Mississippi and other navigable rivers
of the United States as will, while recognizing the equal
importance of railroad and river transportation, harmonize
the interests by securing proper facilities for both."

CHAPTER XIX.

THE GREAT LAKES, AND THEIK NAVIGATION.

WHEN we contemplate the magnificent proportions of the
north-western lakes, we are struck with the grandeur which
they exhibit to the human mind ; and we become absorbed
in the questions whether the Creator really shaped them for
the convenience of commerce, or whether it was a pure
accident or freak of mother earth, when its crust was
cooled down to a temperature fit for the habitation of man.
Whichever way we decide the question, we are still bound
to admire their peculiar adaptation to the wants of civiliza-
tion, and often thank God that we are permitted to have
them for our enjoyment. These lakes are not only distin-
guished from those of other countries by their magnitude
and depth, but in the purity of their waters, which is not
exceeded by the bubbling fountain gushing fresh from the
mountain base.

The following table will show at a glance the physical
character of these lakes, with their height above tide water :

€

1

i

^

S

~ V

£ 8

•g.

a"

11

s s

•o 'g

.8 .

£ S

g

1

«*"

>3

3

5S

cS

*

H

»

180

35

500

832

6,300

Erie

240

80

84

565

9,600

Huron

260

160

900

574

20,400

320

100

900

578

22,000

855

160

900

627

32,000

416 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

These lakes are all connected with each other by rivers,
and with the ocean by the St. Lawrence river; and the
obstruction to navigation by the Niagara Falls, having been
surmounted by the Welland canal, and St. Mary's Falls by
Sault St. Mary canal, vessels not exceeding 130 feet keel, 26
beam, and 10 feet draught, can now load at any of the lake
ports, and pass down to the ocean without transhipment of
freight. These lakes are estimated to drain a region of
country containing an area ol 335,515 square miles.

In tracing the effects of civilization on the commerce of
the north-west, the historian ought to be possessed of the
data of the commerce which had been carried on by the
barbarian nations, long before they were visited by the
white race; but this data can not be reached with any
degree of certainty at the present day, and can only be
approximated from the knowledge we may gain of their
manners and customs. We know that the ancient Mound-
Builders, on the Ohio river, had sea-shells which must have
come from the ocean, and copper and silver, which probably
came from Lake Superior; and while these metals might
have been found in the drift deposits of Illinois and Wis-
consin, there is no conceivable way that the other articles
could have been obtained short of the ocean or Gulf of
Mexico. The evidence is also regarded as conclusive, that
the ancient Mound-Builders were an agricultural people, and
by the ordinary laws of production and human wants, it is
reasonable to suppose that crops might have failed by
drouth and frosts in one locality, and been supplied by
another ; and so investigating from cause to effect, we come
to the conclusion that the Mound-Builders carried on a
considerable commerce throughout all the north-west. Their
successors, being a far more warlike people, paid little
attention to agriculture, and therefore had no great neces-
sity for commerce, except what might gratify their fancy
or superstition. The modern Indians, however, were known

THE GREAT LAKES, AND THEIR NAVIGATION. 417

to have been great travelers, and with their bark canoes
fearlessly undertook a journey of one thousand miles.

When Sieur Champlain visited Lake Huron in 1615, he
opened a commerce with the north-western tribes, and,
except when blockaded by the Iroquois, these north-western
tribes annually visited Quebec and the " Three Rivers,"
with large fleets of canoes loaded with furs and skins, which
they exchanged for guns, powder, lead, blankets, and trin-
kets. Thus we find incidentally mentioned in the Jesuit
Relations, that in 1656, three hundred Indians arrived in
bark canoes; 1660, a fleet of sixty canoes; 1663, thirty-five
canoes of Outaouaks ; 1665, there " arrived at Three Rivers
a hundred canoes of Outaouaks, and some other savages of
our allies, who came from the region of Lake Superior,
about four or five hundred leagues from here, to carry on
their ordinary commerce, and to supply themselves with
what they need, giving us in exchange their beaver skins,
which are very abundant with them."

The beaver trade in Canada was granted by the king in
1628 to a company which failed to protect itself and the
country from the Indians, and consequently surrendered
their monopoly to the people in 1664, for one thousand
beaver annually, as " Seigniorage," and then further surren-
dered their right to one thousand beaver to the king ; and
the king then granted the trade to the West India Company,
with power to nominate all officers of the colony. This
company demanded one-fourth of the beavers, and the tenth
of the moose skins of all persons engaged in the fur trade,
which demand was declared to be legal by the king in 1666 ;
and in 1676, the king expressly prohibited all persons
" invested with ecclesiastical or secular dignity " to engage
in it.

The value of the fur trade can not easily be ascertained,

but M. Talon wrote the King of France, in 1670, that the

English of New York, Albany, and Boston, obtained over

twelve thousand livres worth of beaver annually, " trapped

27

418 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

by the Iroquois in countries subject to the king." The
English obtained large quantities, annually, through the
Iroquois, who carried on their trade with the western
Indians through the valley of the Ohio to the Mississippi.

Although the French of Canada had greatly the advan-
tage in this trade with the Indians, yet, as the English paid
fifty per cent, more for the furs, the French were troubled
with a contraband trade, constantly carried on with the
French and English traders, by which the authorities of
Canada were cheated out of their one-fourth of the furs.
For instance, in 1689, the prices were stated as follows:

Tlie Indian pays for At Albany, At Montreal,

Eight pounds of powder one beaver four.

A gun - - two beavers five.

Forty pounds of lead - - one beaver three.

A blanket of red cloth - - one beaver two.

A white blanket - . - - one beaver two.

Four shirts - - one beaver two.

Six pair of stockings - one beaver two.

Six quarts rum - one beaver

One pint to one quart brandy - - one.

In 1703, the fur trade in Canada was estimated, in a
French document, as being worth two million livres an-
nually.

The English made an attempt to establish trading-posts
at Detroit and Mackinaw in 1686, and the following year,
Major Me Gregory and his party of sixty English and some
Indians, with thirty-two canoes and Indian goods, on their
way to Detroit, were plundered by the French on Lake
Erie, and the prisoners sent to Montreal. From this time,
the French took possession, and established trading-posts
through the whole north-west, which they held until the
surrender of Canada in 1760. When the English came in
possession of Canada, they took possession of these trading-
posts, and held them until 1796, when they were finally
surrendered to the United States.

THE GREAT LAKES, AND THEIR NAVIGATION. 421

At the close of the war of the revolution in 1783, several
of the merchants of Montreal formed a partnership for the
fur trade, and in 1787 united with another * company, and
formed the " North-west Company." The Mackinaw
Company was subsequently formed, with head-quarters at
Mackinaw. In 1809, John Jacob Astor organized himself
into the "American Fur Company," and in 1811, with some
others, bought out the Mackinaw Company, and organized
another, called the " South-west Company." The war of
1812 suspended its operations, and at the close of the war it
was eifectually dissolved by an act of Congress, prohibiting
British fur traders from prosecuting their business in the
United States. Mr. Astor then purchased the property of
the South-west Company, and reorganized the "American
Fur Company," which monopolized the fur trade in the
north-west for many years subsequently.

For this company, Mackinaw was made the general depot
for Indian goods in the north-west, from which place goods
were transported to central points between Mackinaw and
the Rocky mountains. The country west of the Rocky
mountains was supplied from Astoria, on the Columbia
river. Prairie Du Chien had a sub-depot, and supplied the
traders along the Mississippi river, and was superintended
by Mr. Lockwood for several years, until 1827, when it was
put in charge of Colonel H. L. Dousman. The manner of
conducting the trade was to fit out a clerk as trader, with
from |1,000 to $1,500 worth of goods, in the fall of the year.
The clerk was provided with canoes, and two or three voy-
ageurs, or boatmen. The goods were carefully loaded in
the boats, when the clerk and boatmen paddled the canoes
along the water-courses, to the location of some band or
tribe of Indians where it was designed to spend the winter
to trade. Here a log cabin was erected, which constituted
the kitchen, bed-room and store. Where trade was carried
on by the same persons for several winters at the same

422 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

point, additions were generally made to the cabin of a
kitchen arid bed-rooms.

Here, far from civilization or moral restraint, the clerk and
his voyageurs spent the winter, in trading with the Indians,
hunting, and drinking more or less whisky. The clerk
generally secured some influential Indian's daughter as his
mistress, and took her into his cabin, while the voyageurs
contented themselves with running loose among the wig-
wams.

After the winter had passed, the ice in the streams having
disappeared, and the fur of newly-killed beaver became
worthless, the clerk and his voyageurs loaded up their canoes
with their furs and skins, and returned to their employers.
Here the summer was generally spent in drinking, dancing,
and parties made by the congregated traders from different
points, until the time arrived for a new expedition. Thus
years would pass, and when clerks and voyageurs became
too infirm to continue their regular business, they settled
down upon a small piece of land at these central points,
with a squaw for a wife, and there ended their days. On
the death of the husband, if the wife survived, she often
returned to her tribe with the children, and these children
would grow up and often become the most savage of the tribe.

White blood never improves the Indian, morally, men-
tally, or physically, but if it changes him at all, it adds to
his natural barbarity. Indeed, the contact of the whites
with the Indians, from the " landing of the pilgrims "' to the
present day, has been deleterious to the latter race, except
the very limited efforts at times of benevolent individuals to
Christianize them. We have almost uniformly cheated them
in trade, crazed them with brandy, rum, and whisky, de-
bauched their daughters, and robbed them of their lands.
Who can blame them if they are distrustful of our Christi-
anity, and cling to the religion of their fathers, as the only
thing left to them which has not been polluted by the
whites ?

THE GREAT LAKES, AND THEIR NAVIGATION. 423

The commerce with the Indian tribes was carried on at
first in bark canoes, but as business and freight increased,
the French introduced the batteau, a long, light boat, which
proved very effectual in navigating the rivers.

In 1679, Sieur De La Salle, the explorer of the lower
Mississippi, impatient of the custom of transporting freight
to the upper lakes in canoes and batteaux, built, above
Niagara Falls, the " Griffin," a small sail vessel, on which
he embarked, with his goods and about thirty men, for
Mackinaw, August 7, 1679, arriving at the latter place on
the 27th of the same month. Here he remained until Sep-
tember 2nd, when he weighed anchor and sailed forty
leagues, to the mouth of Green Bay, where he and most of
the party took the freight into canoes, to perform the bal-
ance of the journey; the " Griffin " was sent back to
Niagara, but was never heard of after it passed beyond
Mackinaw. The published account does not name the
locality at which the " Griffin " was sent back, but the Rev.
Father St. Cosme, who passed over the route in 1699,
remarked that forty leagues from Mackinaw, they " cabined
in an isle of the detour, (so called) because there the lake
begins to turn southerly," and then crossed Green Bay
" from ile to ile," leaving the bay of Noquet's " on the right."

The point between Lake Michigan and Noquet bay (Bay
De Nock), is still called " Point Detour," and the " Griffin "
probably stopped at Sumner island, a trifle south of the
point. Many modern writers do not speak of the " Griffin "
passing south-west of Mackinaw. The writer does not find
any mention of the tonnage of the " Griffin," but Rev.
Father Membre*, who sailed in it, called it a " barque," and
La Salle, in 1684, in a memorial to the king, speaking of
his losses by shipwreck in 1678 and 1679, said that "no
time had been lost in building, at Fort Frontenac, two new
vessels since, one of thirty-five to forty, and the other of
twenty-five tons," and that those two cost " nine thousand
liivres."

424 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

La Salle evidently introduced sail vessels on Lake Ontario,
as Father Membrd says that La Salle, who had previously
built Fort Frontenac, ".sent off his troops in a brigantine
for Niagara, with Father Louis Hennepin, on the 18th of
November," 1678, and that La Salle "made frequent voya-
ges from Fort Frontenac to Niagara, during the winter, on
the ice, and in the spring, with vessels loaded with provi-
sions," and that " the pilot who directed one of his well-
loaded barques, lost it on Lake Frontenac (Ontario). These
statements establish the point that La Salle owned these
vessels, and that two were lost in 1679, one on Lake
Ontario, and the " Griffin " between Mackinaw and Niagara.
These vessels on Lake Ontario were probably built between
the spring of 1676, when La Salle took possession of Fort
Frontenac to rebuild it, and 1677, when he sailed for France
to obtain a patent to explore the Mississippi ; or it is possi-
ble, though not probable, that they were built during his
absence to France.

The advent of the enterprising La Salle upon the lakes,
with a supposed monopoly of the fur trade, raised up against
him the opposition of the whole trading interests, and every
appliance possible was arranged to circumvent his opera-
tions and defeat his plans ; and as La Salle had first intro-
duced sail vessels on the lakes, this fact was resorted to by
the traders to arouse the superstitions of the savages, and
array them against him. Hence, Father Membre, on this
subject, writes that " an enterprise which should have been
sustained by all well-meaning persons, for the glory of God
and the service of the king, had produced precisely the
opposite feelings and effects, which had been already com-
municated to the Hurons, the Outaoiiats of the island, and
the neighboring nations, to make them ill-affected." Thus,
through the malice of traders against La Salle, the proud
little " barques" were driven from the boisterous lakes,
never to reappear above Niagara falls while the French
held possession of the country, and never to reappear on

THE GREAT LAKES, AND THEIR NAVIGATION. 425

Lake Ontario until about the commencement of the great
war of 1755, when all superstitions sank into insignificance,
in view of the portentous struggle for the sovereignty of
all Canada.

The next mention we have of sail vessels is of two at a
new French mission and fort at the present site of Ogdens-
burg, New York, " loaded with hay and the stockades of
the fort," which were burned by a party of Mohawks,
October 26th, 1749.

Again, in July, 1755, the French Governor of Canada
notices the fact that the English at Oswego were building
some sloops carrying ten guns ; and, the last of the same
month, that the English " have actually two, and perhaps
three, flat-bottomed sloops with sweeps, armed for war,
cruising on Lake Ontario." The French also prepared four
small armed vessels, to protect their batteaux when carrying
supplies to Niagara. Finally, on the llth August, 1756,
the French, under Montcalm, laid siege to Oswego, and
captured it the 14th of the same month, with the English
fleet, then consisting of seven vessels of war, one of eighteen
guns, one of fourteen guns, one of ten, one of eight, three
mounted with swivels, and two hundred barges or batteaux.
These vessels, with the most of those belonging to the
French, were recaptured by the colonial troops under
Colonel Bradstreet, when they took Fort Frontenac, now
called Kingston, August 27th, 1758. All but two of the
vessels were burned, probably as worthless, and those two
were loaded with the trophies of the victory, and taken
back to Oswego. This virtually terminated the French
navy on the lakes.

The surrender of Canada in 1760 to Great Britain, threw
into the hands of the British the then important fur trade
of the north-west, and that government early took possession
of the different military posts, and prepared to supervise
the Indian tribes, then still in a state of semi-hostility. To
this end, they constructed two armed schooners, and put
27*

426 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

them on Lake Erie, probably in the fall of 1762; but the
first notice of them to be found is that they were lying
before the fort at Detroit, May 8th, 1763, at the commence-
ment of the siege of that fort by Pontiac. One of these,
named the " Gladwin," made a trip to Fort Erie, and
returned with supplies and a reinforcement for the fort, in
June, which saved the fort from being surrendered to the
Indians. The " Gladwin" made several trips during the
season to Fort Erie. On the 13th of August, 1763, she left
Detroit with her consort, called the " Beaver," but the lat-
ter was wrecked on her return towards Detroit, on the 28th
of the same month, at Catfish creek, fourteen miles from
Buffalo. The " Gladwin" only saved from the wreck one
hundred and eighty-five barrels of provisions, which she
took to Detroit. About this time additional vessels were
put on the lake ; and the arrivals at Detroit for 1764 showed
the names of the " Gladwin," " Victory," " Boston," and
" Royal Charlotte." This year the " Gladwin" made one
trip to Mackinaw.

From this time up to the commencement of the war of
1812, the commerce of the lakes was mainly confined to the
interests of the fur trade, and the sail vessels m-ade a few
trips annually to Mackinaw and Sault St. Mary.

Previous to 1 800, the North-western Fur Company placed
a schooner on Lake Superior, to run from Sault St. Mary to
La Point, near the head of the lake. The first American
vessel, called the "Washington," was launched at Erie,
Pennsylvania, in 1797, after the surrender of the north-
western posts to the United States by Great Britain. In
1812 the whole number of vessels on the upper lakes above
Niagara falls was only twelve, belonging to both govern-
ments. To these were added, in 1813, the armed squadrons
of the two nations, which finally became the property of the
United States, by " Perry's victory," September 10th, 1813.

The discovery of steam navigation, which has worked a
revolution, particularly on the great rivers of the world, was

THE GREAT LAKES, AND THEIR NAVIGATION".

427

early transferred from the Atlantic to the lakes ; and in 1818
was first heard the snorting " Walk-in-the-Water," the first
steamer on Lake Erie.

The following table, compiled and published by the editor
of the "Buffalo Commercial Advertiser" in 1843, will show
the progress of steam navigation for the first twenty-five
years, on the lakes above Niagara falls :

List of Steamers on the Upper Lakes to 1843.

Name.

Tons.

Class.

Where built.

When
built.

Walk-in-the-Water

840

Low

Black Rock

1818

800

Buffalo

1822

ion

ii

1824

H Clay

348

ii

Black Rock

1825

230

High

180

ii

1826

275

Erie

250

High

120

Barcelona

1829

75

ii

Erie

242

Low

Huron

1830

Ohio

187

High

I. Sandusky

Adelaide

230

Low

Chippewa

00

High

Charleston

1832

395

Erie

New York

825

ii

Black Rock ,

Brady

ICO

ii

Detroit

280

50

High

Erie

609

1883

472

Webster .•

&5S

ii

Black Rock

240

llin-h

Toledo

26

151

Black Rock

362

High

170

1TO

ii

77

Buffalo

1834

Porter

342

Black Rock

428

11

Erie

Perry
Monroe

352
341

High

Perrysburgh
Monroe

180

11

Buffalo

877

Minnessetuk

250

Jackson

50

High

80

L. Western

60

ii

Fulton

308

ii

1835

Columbus

391

11

812

Buffalo

United States

3(56

High

Chicago

186

Taylor

95

ii

Thames

160

ii

Clinton ..

413

ii

Huron . .

1836

428

UPPER MISSISSIPPI.
List of Steamers — continued.

Name.

Tons.

Class.

Where built.

When
built.

J. Palmer

300

Buffalo

L. Erie

149

Detroit

102

it

United

37

High

Detroit

St. Clair

250

80

it

Toledo .

18

ii

116

ii

Sandusky

755

1 37

472

High

630

Erie

580

Wisconsin

700

Conneaut

Erie

497

ii

Erie

288

ii

B. Hill

457

High

443

416

Black Rock

Milwaukee

401

390

High

101

Star

128

1(

80

ii

53

ii

Great Western

780

ii '

1 38

Buffalo

618

Buffalo

412

385

High

863

Fairport

259

High

148

75

High

J. Allen

250

380

High

Dole

162

52

ii

51

ii

45

ii

56

it

St Joseph

gcott

240

ii

1 89

161

150

High

Kent

180

149

ii

63

ii

Erie

612

ii

1840

826

ii

98

Black Rock

400

534

ii

Toledo

1841

Franklin

231

High

1842

Nile

600

Detroit

1843

Union

64

High

Black Rock

Besides the above list, there are a few small boats of
which nothing is known other than their names. Among
these are the " Pantanguishane," " Cynthia," " Pontiac," and
" Phenomenon," making with those above given an aggre-

THE GREAT LAKES, AND THEIR NAVIGATION. 429

gate of 27,000 tons, at a total cost of $3,510,000, — one
hundred and thirty dollars a ton being what we deem true
data for building and fitting out this description of vessels.

The number of boats yet remaining of the whole once in
commission on Lake Erie and the other upper lakes is about
sixty, with an aggregate of 17,000 tons. Of these, some
thirty-five only are used when the consolidation is in
existence.

Of the whole number of boats put in commission during
the above period, only ten were built and owned in Canada.

The first steamer on Lake Michigan was the Henry Clay,
which visited Green Bay with a pleasure party in August,
1827. The first steamer visited Chicago in 1832, and
carried there General Scott and troops for the " Black Hawk
war," and with them the cholera.

In 1843 a new era in steam navigation was established,
by the introduction of the " propeller," by Messrs. Hollisters,
of Buffalo. During that season they launched one at
Buffalo, one at Cleveland, one at Perrysburg, and one at
Chicago. The first was called the " Hercules," and was
one hundred and thirty-five feet long, twenty-five feet beam,
eight feet hold, and two hundred and seventy-five tons.
The engine was one of the Ericsson patent, of fifty horse-
power, filled only about six feet square, and weighed only
fifteen tons. This left almost the entire hull for storage.
It cost about $20,000, and was rigged with sails as well as
engine. This class of steamers became popular in lake
navigation, and was afterwards greatly multiplied.

In 1825, the whole licensed tonnage of all the lakes above
the Falls of Niagara consisted of three steamers of seven
hundred and seventy-two tons, and fifty-four sailing craft
of 1,677 tons, being an aggregate of only 2,449 tons.

From 1825 to 1851 the aggregate tonnage was as follows:
1830, 16,300; 1835, 30,602; 1841, 55,181; 1846, 90,000;
1851, 153,426.

UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

The Chicago Board of Trade, in 1862, made up the fol-
lowing table, showing the number, class, tonnage, and valua-
tion of vessels, American and Canadian, engaged in the
commerce of the lakes from 1858 to 1862:

Class and Tonnage of Vessels.

1858.

AMERICAN.

CANADIAN-.

No.

Tonnage

Valuation.

No.

Tonnage

Valuation.

72
111

69
129
830

43,031
56,994
6,366
42,592
177,170

67
14
5
87
212

24,734
4,197
415
10,793
32,959

Total

1,213

75
190
44
76
831

331,153

47,833
57,210
17,929
21,505
172,526

335

77
27
23
16
217

73', 143

25,939
7,289
7,832
3,815
31,792

1860.

$2,439,840
8,250,390
584,540
484,25(1
5,233,085

$1,499,680
407,290
246,480
94,380
893,560

Propellers

Barques

Schooners

Total

1,216

66

122
132
60
75
903

316,503

43,683
52,932
17,280
26,555
22,124
199,423

$11,992,105

$1,403,800
2,344,31)0
922,2 )0
786,300
466,700
5,439,800

360

61
16

2-2
2-2
14
229

70,717

28,104
5,154

8,432

Tjnv

4,223
35,062

$3,146,390

$1,020,200
181,000
202,300
224,5iX)
107,000
872,500

1862.

Tugs

Brigs *

Schooners

Total

1,363

361,997

$11,364,100

367

88,396

$2,607,500

The following are the different kinds of vessels built
during the year ending June 30th, 1864, with their tonnage
and place of construction — American :

THE GKEAT LAKES, AND THEIR NAVIGATION.

431

2

§ *

•

C a?

e

_O

»

z,

If

!i

i

1

|

NEW YORK—

&*

I

Kg

1

£

H

Oswego ...

5

78

i

84

I2,O24

Genesee - -

i

i

2O

Niagara

I

i

150

Buffalo Creek ' -

2

23

26

5i

4>757

Cape Vincent

3

3

1,023

OHIO —

Sandusky

4

2

6

12

1,814

Cuyahoga ...

i

6

9

ii

27

Toledo

i

I

' 81

MICHIGAN —

Detroit ...

4

7

H

9

34

6,669

Mackinaw

i

4

5

1,446

WISCONSIN —

Milwaukee -

9

i

10

2,346

ILLINOIS —

Chicago ','.-"

i

9i

4

96

11,468

Total

6

43

218

58

325

49-H9

Total for 1863 -

16

5«

329

7i

475

68,337

The miscellaneous points between the east and west, to
which this large fleet of vessels ran, may be gathered as an
approximation from the Report of the Milwaukee Chamber
of Commerce for 1863, on the lines of propellers running
from that city. The following were the several lines for
1863:

1. The People's Line and Western Transportation Com-
pany : Twelve propellers to Buffalo, Erie railroad and Erie
canal.

2. The New York Central Line : Ten propellers to Buf-
falo, New York Central railroad and Erie canal.

3. The Grand Trunk Line : Eight propellers to Sarnia,
Canada, Grand Trunk railroad.

4. Evans' Line : Seven propellers to Buffalo, New York
Central and Erie canal.

5. Northern Transportation Citizens' Line : Eight pro-
pellers to Oswego and New York canals.

432

UPPEE MISSISSIPPI.

6. Great Western Railway Line : Seven propellers to
Sarnia, Canada, Great Western railroad.

7. Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad Line : Two steam-
\

ships to Grand Haven, Michigan.

8. Montreal Propeller Line : Five propellers weekly, to
Montreal, Canada.

These lines of propellers were mostly an addition to the
shipping of Milwaukee for 1863, as is indicated by the fol-
lowing table :

Shipping of Milwaukee, 1862 and 1863.

1862.

1863.

No.

Tonnage.

No.

Tonnage.

Steamers -
Propellers -
Barques - - - -
Brigs --.-

Schooners -

Total ...

7

8
8
107

2,546

3^87
2,481
I9>33<>

8

69
70

20
405

5.353
38,54i
28.883
6,225
81,769

130

27,844

572

160,771

This addition to the shipping of Milwaukee, was made
necessary mainly by the large surplus of grain raised in
north-western Wisconsin, northern Iowa, and Minnesota,
nearly all of which was sent to the Milwaukee market, by
which that city was made to exceed Chicago in the amount
of wheat sent to the eastern market. Another fact has
contributed in a measure to this result : namely, the fact
that the spring wheat of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and north-
ern Iowa, is a superior article to that raised farther south,
and is more sought after for flouring by eastern mill-owners.

CHAPTER XX.

CANALS, RAILROADS, TELEGRAPH LINES, AND COMMERCE.

PREVIOUS to our revolutionaiy war, the subject of commerce
with the North-west attracted the attention of General Wash-
ington, of Virginia, and he submitted a scheme to the House
of Burgesses, of that State, for the construction of a canal
to the head waters of the Ohio river, for which he received
a vote of thanks from that body. The scheme, however,
was thought to be chimerical by some, and premature by
others, and was not commenced by the State.

New York had for nearly two centuries struggled with
Canada in the competition for the fur trade of the North-
west, but witnessed with disappointment that the most of
that trade had continued to follow the water courses to
Montreal and Quebec ; hence they early planned schemes for
connecting the Hudson river with Lake Erie by water com-
munication. Finally, in 1816, Governor Clinton, of New
York, recommended to the legislature of that State the
building of a canal from Albany to Buffalo. That year a
preliminary survey was made of the route, and, July 4th,
1817, the work was formally commenced, and prosecuted
with energy from year to year until its completion, May
26th, 1825.

The progress of the work was watched with great solici-
tude by statesmen of other States, and its triumphant
success was the signal for the commencement of other
similar improvements.
28

434 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

The State of Pennsylvania formally inaugurated her
works July 4th, 1826, which were completed to Pittsburgh in
March, 1834. These were made up of the Columbia railroad,
from Philadelphia to Columbia, 82 miles ; the eastern and
Juniata division of the Pennsylvania canal, from Columbia
to Hollidaysburg, at the base of the Alleghany mountains,
172 miles; the Portage railroad, from Hollidaysburg to
Johnston, 36 miles, passing over the mountain ; and the
western division of the Pennsylvania canal, from Johnstown
to Pittsburgh, 104 miles; — making the total distance, from
Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, 394 miles.

Previous to the completion of the New York canal, the
people of Maryland had monopolized the eastern travel to
the Ohio river, by the shortness of the route from the
Chesapeake bay ; but, on the completion of the New York
canal, they saw the most of this travel deflected to the New
York route ; hence we find Maryland early competing for
the prize of the commerce of the Ohio valley. Receiving
assistance from the cities of Washington, Georgetown, and
Alexandria, and from the United States government, Mary-
land chartered the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, extending
from Alexandria up the Potomac river. This work was
commenced under favorable auspices in 1828, but was only
completed to Cumberland, a distance of 191 nliles, in 1851.

The State of Ohio was earlier in the field with her canals
than either Pennsylvania or Maryland; and in 1825 that
State commenced the Ohio canal, which extended from
Portsmouth, on the Ohio river, to Cleveland, on Lake Erie,
a distance of 307 miles. The Miami canal was also com-
menced in 1825, and extended from Cincinnati to Man-
hattan, on Lake Erie, near Toledo, a distance of 270 miles.
Both of these canals were completed in 1832.

The following is a list of the Ohio canals, with their
several lengths :

CANALS, RAILROADS, TELEGRAPH LINES, ETC. 435

Ohio canal and branches .... 340 miles.

Walhonding canal - - - - - 25 "

Miami canal and branches - ... 315 "

Hocking Valley canal - 56 "

Muskingham improvement - ... 91 "

Sandy and Beaver canal - 76 "

Mahoning canal - * - 77 "

Total length of all, - - 980 miles.

These Avorks cost over $19,000,000, and have contributed
greatly to the prosperity of the State and the commerce of
the lakes.

In the financial expansion of 1836, the legislature of the
State of Indiana planned an extensive system of works for
internal improvements, and the Wabash and Erie canal was
constructed from the State line of Ohio up the Maumee
river and down the Wabash to Lafayette ; but the crisis of
1837-8 caused the State to suspend operations, and the
canal passed into the hands of the bondholders, by whom it
was subsequently completed to Evansville, on the Ohio
river. It extends 379 miles through the State of Indiana,
and is of the total length, to Lake Erie, of 467 miles.
Indiana has also the White Water canal, extending from
Lawrenceville, on the Ohio river, to Hagerstown, a distance
of 75 miles.

The State of Michigan also, in 1836, planned extension
lines of canals, but the bankruptcy of 1838 suspended opera-
tions before they were scarcely commenced. The St.
Mary's ship canal, however, several years after, received a
grant of land from the United States, and was completed
May 19th, 1855. It is cut through solid rock, ten feet
deep, one hundred feet wide, and surmounts the falls, which
were twenty-two feet perpendicular height.

The State of Illinois followed nearly in the path of Indiana.
It commenced the Illinois and Michigan canal in 1836,
suspended operations in 1838, and turned the work over to

436 TIPPER MISSISSIPPI.

the bondholders, who completed the canal from Chicago to
Peru in 1848, a distance of 100 miles.

In June, 1838, the territory of Wisconsin obtained a
grant of land from the United States, to aid in the con-
struction of the Milwaukee and Rock River canal, and the
work was commenced ; but subsequently the work was
abandoned, and most of the proceeds of the sales of the
grant reverted to the United States, and was deducted from
the five per cent, fund due the new State.

Congress made another grant of land to the territory of
Wisconsin, August 8th, 1846, " to aid in the improvement
of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, and to connect the same
by a canal." This grant was accepted by Wisconsin, by
an act of the legislature of the State, approved June 29th,
1848, and the work was soon after commenced, and is still
(1867) in progress.

No other north-western State has made any serious attempt
to construct canals.

The construction of railroads began to attract the atten-
tion of the people of the North-west in 1836, and that year
the State of Ohio commenced the Lake Erie and Kalamazoo
railroad, which was finished in 1845, thirty-three miles.
The Mansfield and Sandusky was also commenced in 1836,
and completed in 1847 ; the Mud River and Lake Erie was
commenced in 1836, and completed in 1846, one hundred
and thirty-four miles ; and the little Miami was commenced
in 1837, and finished in 1846, eighty-four miles.

The States of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan also inaug-
urated a system of railroads in 1836, but little progress was
made until long after the financial crisis of 1837-8 had
passed. In fact, the construction of railroads in the North-
west progressed very slowly until after 1850.

The building of railroads received a great impetus from
the government of the United States. As one of the paci-
fying measures of the government in the great anti-slavery
excitement of 1850, Congress passed a law, the 20th of

CANALS, RAILROADS, TELEGRAPH LINES, ETC. 437

September of that year, (the same date as the law suppress-
ing the slave trade in the District of Columbia,) providing
" that the right of way through the public lands be, and the
same is hereby granted to the State of Illinois, for the con-
struction of a railroad from the southern terminus of the
Illinois and Michigan canal [Peru] to a point at or near the
junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, with a branch
of the same to Chicago, on Lake Michigan, and another via
the town of Galena, in said State, to Dubuque, in the State
of Iowa, with the right also to take necessary materials of
earth, stones, timber, etc., for the construction thereof:
Provided, That the right of way shall not exceed one
hundred feet on each side of the length thereof," etc. By
the second section of the same act, it was further provided,
" That there be, and is hereby, granted to the State of
Illinois, for the purpose of aiding in making the railroad
and branches aforesaid, every alternate section of land
designated by even numbers, for six sections in width on
each side of said road and branches,'" etc. ; and if any of
the even numbers of sections within six miles had then been
sold, or preempted, an equivalent number might be selected
within fifteen miles of the road.

Section four provided that the State might sell the
lands, and that " the said road and branches shall be and
remain a public highway, for the use of the government of
the United States, free from toll or other charges upon the
transportation of any property or troops of the United
States. By the fifth section the grant was to be forfeited
unless the road was completed in ten years ; and by the
sixth section the mails were to be carried on the road at
, such price as should be fixed by law.

By the seventh section of the same act a grant with like
provisions was made to the States of Mississippi and Ala-
bama, for the extension of the road from the mouth of the
Ohio river to Mobile.

The leading spirit in Congress who urged and procured

438 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

this magnificent grant of land, and thus initiated the system
of granting lands for railroads, was the late Senator Douglas,
of Illinois, a leading champion in north-western civilization.

HON. S. A. DOUGLAS, LATE U. S. SENATOR FOR ILLINOIS.

The principal grants of land by the United States after-
wards made for railroads to other north-western States,
were as follows: To Missouri, June 10th, 1852, (1,) from
Hannibal to St. Joseph ; and, (2,) from St. Louis to the
west line of the State, as might be determined by the State
legislature. To Missouri and Arkansas, February 9th, 1858,
" from a point on the Mississippi river, opposite the mouth
of the Ohio, via Little Rock, to Texas boundary line, near
Fulton in Arkansas, with branches from Little Rock in
Arkansas, to the Mississippi river, and to Fort Smith, in
said State."

CANALS, RAILROADS, TELEGRAPH LINES, ETC. 439

To the State of Iowa, May 15th, 1856, (1,) " from Burling-
ton, on the Mississippi river, to a point on the Missouri
river near the mouth of the Platte river ; (2,) from the city
of Davenport, via Iowa City and Fort Des Moines, to
Council Bluffs ; (3,) from Lyons City north-westerly to a
point of intersection with the main line of the Iowa Central
Air-Line railroad near Maquoketa, thence on said main
line, running as near as practicable to the forty-second
parallel, across the said State to the Missouri river; (4,)
from the City of Dubuque to a point on the Missouri river
near Sioux City, with a branch from the mouth of the Tete
Des Morts to the nearest point on said road."

To the State of Michigan, June 3rd, 1856, (1,) "from
Little Bay de Noquet to Marquette, and thence to Ontona-
gon, and from the two last-named places to the Wisconsin
State line ; and, (2,) also, from Amboy, by Hillsdale and
Lansing, and from Grand Rapids, to some point on or near
Traverse bay ; also, (3,) from Grand Haven and Pere Mar-
quette to Flint, and thence to Port Hm-on."

By the act of March 3rd, 1865, a further grant was made,
" for the purpose of aiding in the construction of a railroad
from Marquette on Lake Superior, to the Wisconsin State
line at or near the mouth of the Menomonee river, for the
benefit and use of the Chicago and North-western Railway
Company, a corporation of the States of Michigan, Illinois,
and Wisconsin ; and from Marquette to Ontonagon, for the
use and benefit of the Marquette and Ontonagon Railroad
Company, a corporation of the State of Michigan ; and for
twenty miles westerly from Marquette, of the Bay de Noquet
and Marquette railroad, for the benefit and use of the Bay de
Noquet and Marquette Railroad Company, four additional
alternate sections of land, per mile, to that already granted."
The same act extended the time for the completion of the
road from Marquette to the mouth of the Menomonee river,
and thence to Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin, five years
from June 3rd, 1866.

440 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

To the State of Wisconsin, June 3rd, 1856, (1,) "from
Madison, or Columbus, by the way of Portage City to St.
Croix river or lake, between townships twenty-live and
thirty-one, and from thence to the west end of Lake
Superior, and to Bayfield ; and, (2,) from Fond du Lac, on
Lake Winnebago, northerly to the State line."

By the act of May 5th, 1864, further grants to Wisconsin
were made as follows: (l,) "From a point on the St.
Croix river or lake, between townships twenty-five and
thirty-one, to the west end of Lake Superior, and from some
point on the line of said railroad, to be selected by said
State, to Bayfield, every alternate section of public land
designated by odd numbers, for ten sections in width, on
each side of said road, deducting any and all lands that
may have been granted to the State of Wisconsin by the
act of Congress of June 3rd, 1856; (2,) from the town of
Tomah to St. Croix river or lake, between townships twenty-
five and thirty-one," the same number of sections with like
conditions as the above. The two foregoing grants only
covered that portion of the grant of 1856 extending from
Tomah to Lake Superior, and was supplementary thereto,
leaving the balance of the grant of 1856, from Tomah to
Madison, to still rest on the law of 1856. (3,) " From
Portage City, Berlin, Doty's island, or Fond du Lac, as said
State may determine, in a north-western direction to Bay-
field, and thence to Superior, on Lake Superior," giving the
odd numbered alternate sections for ten miles on each side
of the road.

To the State of Minnesota, March 3rd, 1857, (1,) "from
Stillwater, by way of St. Paul and St. Anthony, to a point
between the foot of Big Stone lake and the mouth of Sioux
Wood river, with a branch, via St. Cloud arid Crow Wing,
to the navigable waters of the Red river of the north, at
such point as the legislature of said territory may determine ;
(2,) from St. Paul and from St. Anthony, via Minneapolis,
to a convenient point of junction west of the Mississippi, to

CANALS, RAILROADS, TELEGRAPH LINES, ETC. 441

tile southern boundary of the territory in the direction of
the mouth of the Big Sioux river, with a branch, via Fari-
bault, to the north line of the State of Iowa, west of range
sixteen; (3,) from Winona, via Saint Peters, to a point on
the Big Sioux river, south of the forty -fifth parallel of north
latitude ; (4,) also from La Crescent, via Target Lake, up
the valley of Root river to a point of junction with the last
mentioned road, east of range seventeen." By the act of
July 12th, 1862, the first route mentioned above was slightly
modified, and an additional branch granted from said line,
(5,) "from between the Falls of St. Anthony and Crow
Wing, and extending in a north-easterly direction to Lake
Superior."

To the State of Kansas, March 3rd, 1863, (1,) " from the
city of Leavenworth, by the way of the town of Lawrence,
and via the Ohio City crossing of the Osage river, to the
southern line of the State, in the direction of Galveston bay,
in Texas, with a branch from Lawrence, by the valley of
the Wakarusa river, to the point on the Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe railroad, where said road intersects the Neosho
river; (2,) from the city of Atchison, via Topeka, the
capital of said State, to the western line of the State, in the
direction of Fort Union and Santa Fe, New Mexico, with
a branch from where this last-named road crosses the
Neosho, down said Neosho valley to the point where the
said first-named road entered the said Neosho valley."

By the act of July 1st, 1864, another route was granted,
" from Emporia, via Council Grove, to a point near Fort
Riley, on the branch Union Pacific Railroad ;" and the
grant in the act of 1863, " from Lawrence, by the valley of
the Wakarusa river, to a point on the Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe Railroad where said road intersects the Neosho
river, shall be so changed as to run from Lawrence to
Emporia."

The great scheme for a railroad to the Pacific ocean was
advocated by Mr. Whitney and others, long before such a
28*

442 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

measure had become practicable by the advancement of
civilization ; but the agitation of the subject had prepared
the public mind for the early adoption of the enterprise,
and Congress, March 3rd, 1853, appropriated $150,000 to
the Secretary of War, and authorized him " to employ such
portion of the corps of topographical engineers, and such
other persons as he may deem necessary, to make such
explorations and surveys as he may deem advisable, to
ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a
railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific ocean."
Further appropriations were made of $190,000 for the same
purpose.

Under this act, the Secretary of War organized several
corps for the survey of different routes. The northern route,
near the 47° of north latitude, was put under the superin-
tendence of Governor Isaac J. Stevens, who passed up the
Mississippi on the steamer "Nominee," May 27th, 1853,
and immediately commenced operations at St. Paul.
Brevet-Captain George B. McClellan (late Major-General)
was put in charge of a similar corps at Puget Sound, on the
Pacific, to meet Governor Stevens. Similar parties were
organized to survey near the 35°, 38°, and 41° parallels of
north latitude, while all previous surveys by Colonel
Fremont and others, were brought in requisition for the
information they contained. The final result of these sur-
veys, with extensive maps, illustrations, and geographical
and scientific discoveries, were published in 1861, in thirteen
quarto volumes, by govei-riment, at a large expense.

The scheme was then taken up by Congress, and, on the
1st day of July, 1862, the act was approved by the Presi-
dent, organizing " The Union Pacific Railroad Company,"
which was fully " empowered to lay out, locate, construct,
furnish, maintain and enjoy a continuous railroad and tele-
graph, with the appurtenances, from a point on the one
hundredth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich,
between the south margin of the valley of the Republican

CANALS, KAILKOADS, TELEGRAPH LINES, ETC. 443

river and the north margin of the valley of the Platte river,
in the territory of Nebraska, to the western boundary of
Nevada territory," with a branch to the mouth of the
Kansas river, and another to Ornaha. The capital stock
was put at 100,000 shares, of $1,000 each, and the company
received a grant of five alternate odd numbered sections on
each side of the road, and a loan of the bonds of the United
States at the rate of $16,000 per mile, which bonds were to
constitute the first mortgage on the road.

By the act of July 2nd, 1864, the shares were reduced to
$100 each, and the capital stock was put at 1,000,000 shares,
and some other changes made in the original charter for
the road.

The Union Pacific Railroad Company was duly organized,
and the road located and put under contract, and 305 miles
were completed west of Omaha, January 1st, 1867, and 517
miles in September, the same year, with a fair prospect of
completing the balance to California in 1870; a distance of
nearly 1,565 miles to the west line of Nevada, and, adding
the California branch, 1,900 miles to the Pacific. The
general route from Omaha is up the North Platte river, thence
to the Great Salt lake, and, by the way of Humboldt river,
to connect with the Central Pacific road in California, which
had 150 miles of the western division from Sacramento
completed in September, 1867, which had pierced the
Siei'ra Nevada mountains. The Kansas branch, called the
eastern division, had about 300 miles completed in Septem-
ber, 1867, and a contract for 95 miles more, to be com-
pleted December 31st of the same year. The eastern divi-
sion is pointing for Denver City, by the Smoky Fork route.

The other roads west of the Mississippi have been making
commendable efforts to connect with the Omaha and Kansas
branches; and the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad
finally reached Council Bluffs, and brought themselves in
connection at Omaha, a distance from Chicago of 492 miles,
January 22nd, 1867.

444

UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

The " Northern Pacific Railroad Company" was chartered
by Congress, July 2nd, 1864, and were "empowered to lay
out, locate, construct, furnish, maintain and enjoy a con-
tinuous railroad and telegraph line, with the appurtenances,
namely: beginning at a point on Lake Superior, in the
State of Minnesota or Wisconsin ; thence westerly by the
most eligible railroad route, as shall be determined by said
company, within the territory of the United States, on a
line north of the forty-fifth degree of latitude, to some point
on Puget's Sound, with a branch, via the valley of the
Columbia river, to a point at or near Portland, in the State
of Oregon, leaving the main trunk line at the most suitable
place, not more than three hundred miles from its western
terminus."

The capital stock of the company was put at 1,000,000
of shares, of $100 each, and the company received a grant
of twenty of the odd numbered alternate sections per mile
on each side of said railroad where it passes through the
territories, and only ten sections per mile each side where
it passes through States. The company were required to
commence the work in two years from the date of the
charter, and after the second year build fifty miles a year
of the,road, and complete the whole by July 4th, 1876.

The following will show the number of miles of railroads
in operation at the periods named, in the northwest:

Table of Railroads.

1850.

1855.

I860.

186T.

Ohio -

575

2,453

2,990

Indiana -

228

1,406

2,125

Illinois ....

no

887

2,868

Michigan -

342

474

799

919

Wisconsin « -

20

187

923

i,i36

Iowa ....

68

680

i)i36

Missouri -

139

817

962

Minnesota ...

332

Kansas ....

357

Nebraska - - -

5i7

CANALS, RAILROADS, TELEGRAPH LINES, ETC. 445

By reference to the foregoing table, it will be observed
that Iowa and Missouri had no railroads in 1850, and that
Minnesota, Kansas and Nebraska had none until after 1860,
the most of which were built after the close of the war in
1865. Some progress has been made since 1860 in Ohio,
Indiana, and Illinois, but the writer has not the data to put
in the table. In 1867, roads were being extended in all the
north-western States; but with the greatest rapidity in
Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa, and in a short
pei'iod of time several routes will be completed to the
Pacific ocean.

The magnetic telegraph has been of great importance to
the North-west, by bringing this distant region within speak-
ing distance of the Atlantic cities. Although the first line
of telegraph was only put in operation between Washington
and Baltimore in May, 1844, yet in about four years it had
reached Milwaukee, St. Louis, and other prominent cities in
the North-west. It was subsequently extended north-west
from Milwaukee, and reached La Crosse in October, 1858,
and St. Paul, August 29th, 1860. The telegraph has been
extended on the line of every railroad, and to all the princi-
pal villages in the North-west ; and so perfect is its arrange-
ments, that the President's messages reach the extreme
boundaries of the American Union in a few minutes after
the last words are pronounced at Washington.

By the act of Congress passed June 16th, 1860, the
Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to advertise for
proposals " for the use by the government of a line or lines
of magnetic telegraph, to be constructed within two years
from the 31st day of July, 1860, from some point or points
on the west line of the State of Missouri to the city of San
Francisco, for a period of ten years," and " pi-oyided such
proffer does not require a larger amount per year from the
United States than $40,000." Under this encouragement,
the line was completed to San Francisco, October 22nd,
1861.

446 UPPEK MISSISSIPPI.

By the act of July 1st, 18&2, the Pacific Telegraph Com-
pany, the Overland Telegraph Company, and the California
State Telegraph Company, were authorized to make
arrangements with the Union Pacific Railroad Company,
to remove said telegraph lines on to the route of the said
railroad as fast as the road was completed.

By the act of Congress of July 1st, 1864, Perry Mac-
Donough Collins, of California, and his associates, were
authorized to construct branches from the line of the Pacific
telegraph through any of the territories of the United States
to British America. Collins and Company had previously
obtained grants from the Russian and British governments
to build a telegraph line from the mouth of Amoor river, in
Asia, via Behring's Straits, to the United States. This
enterprise has been prosecuted with great labor and cost,
and in December, 1866, eight hundred and fifty miles had
been put in operation north of Westminster, British
Columbia, and the balance of the material delivered at con-
venient points to Behring's Straits and the sub-marine cable
at Victoria, Vancouver island, when the company suspended
operations in January, 1867.

The limits of this work will not allow us to give the
various agricultural statistics of the North-west, but we take
the liberty to give a table of the productions of wheat and
corn, as given by the United States census of 1850 and
1860.

CANALS, RAILROADS, TELEGRAPH LINES, ETC. 447

Production of Wheat and Corn in the North--west.

WHEAT.

CORN.

1849.

1859-

1849.

1859-

Dakota

Bushels.

9.4H.575
6,214,458
1,530,581

4,925,889
1,401
2,981,652

H.487.35I
4,286,131

Bushels.

945
24,159,500
15,219,120

8,433,215
168,527
8,313,185
2,195,812
4,227,586
72,268
H,532,57o
15,812,625

Bushels.

57,646,984
52,964,363
8,656,799

5,641,420
16,725
36,214,537

59,078,695
1,988,979

Bushels.
20,296
115,296,779
69,641,591
41,116,994
5,678,834
12,152,110
2,987,570
72,892,157
1,846,785
70,637,140
7,565,290

Illinois '. .

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Michigan

Minnesota

Nebraska

Ohio

Wisconsin

Total

43.832,038

93.i34.353

222,208,502

399'935,546

By an examination of the same census reports, it will be
observed that all the States and territories in the United
States, produced, in 1849: wheat, 100,485,944 bushels, and
in 1859, 171,183,381 bushels; of corn, in 1849, 592,071,104
bushels, and in 1859, 830,451,707 bushels.

By comparing these statistics, it will be seen that in
1849 the north-western States and territories of Dakota and
Nebraska, produced nearly forty-four per cent, of all the
wheat and corn in the United States and territories, and in
1859, nearly sixty per cent, of the wheat, and nearly forty-
seven per cent, of the corn. •

In the subsequent years the productions of the North-west
in wheat and . corn has largely increased, notwithstanding
the war of the great rebellion ; and according to the report
of the Commissioner of Agriculture, there were raised in
1864, in the north-western States, including Nebraska terri-
tory, 123,128,416 bushels of wheat, and 404,602,276 bushels
of corn.

While wheat and corn are regarded as the staple produc-

448 UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

tions, yet the North-west exports a large surplus of rye,
barley, oats, whisky, wool, horses, fat cattle, hogs, and other
productions of a temperate climate. Some idea of this
surplus may be gathered from the tables made up by the
Buifalo Board of Trade, from which it appears that there
were shipped to an eastern market, from the North-west, in
1860, 4,106,057 barrels of flour, 32,334,391 bushels of wheat,
18,075,778 bushels of corn, and 7,712,032 bushels of other
grain. This statement does not include Missouri, Kansas,
nor Nebraska, nor the shipments sent South. In 1862, and
after the commencement of the war, the same authority
gives the eastern shipments as 8,359,910 barrels of flour,
50,609,130 bushels of wheat, 32,985,923 bushels of corn, and
10,844,939 bushels of other grain. These amounts of course
did not include the large shipments for the support of the
vast armies of the Cumberland, the Tennessee, and of the
Mississippi.

According to the same authority, there were received in
1862, at Buffalo, from the North-west: 171,552 barrels of
pork, 123,301 barrels of beef, 25,687,657 pounds of bacon,
22,471,204 pounds of lard, 113,253 barrels of whisky,
30,410,252 of staves, 125,289,971 feet of lumber, 129,433
cattle, 524,916 hogs, 105,671 sheep, 4,119,173 pounds of
butter, 1,313,030 pounds of cheese, 36,812 bushels of flax
seed, 268,685 hides, 8,329,811 pounds of iron, 8,535,992
pounds of lead, 2,624,932 bushels of oats, 1,075,650 pounds
of oil-cake, 4,363,884 pounds of tallow, 51,278 bushels of
timothy seed, 5,047 bushels of clover seed, and vast quan-
tities of other materials. These items do not include large
quantities of the surplus productions sent to an eastern
market by railroads, and by the Welland canal ; but these
show that the productions of the North-west are not confined
to wheat and corn.

Manufactures are also receiving considerable attention
in the North-west. Large quantities of agricultural imple-
ments, pig iron, bar and rolled iron, steam engines, stoves,

CANALS, RAILROADS, TELEGRAPH LINES, ETC. 449

lead, copper, cloths, boots and shoes, and other articles, are
being manufactured. Cotton and woolen factories have
been established, to a limited extent, in most of the States,
and the public attention is waking up to the importance of
their increase.

CONCLUSION.

IT has been the writer's endeavor, in this work, to collect
and present to the reader those leading facts in the history
of the North-west, which are necessary to enable the well-
informed citizen to speak intelligently on the growth and
prosperity of his country, leaving the more detailed account
to be gathered from the thousands of original documents.
This subject is doubly interesting to the statesman and
philosopher, owing to the wonderful rapidity of the settle-
ment of the country after the close of the war of 1812,
being unparalleled, it is believed, in the history of the
world. It demonstrates, by facts, many of the peculiarities
of human nature, and shows, on an extensive scale, the
workings of Divine Providence. Its growth has not been
an ephemeral growth, for the institutions have been laid on
broad and deep foundations, and the superstructure is of
imperishable materials. Neither has the work been planned
and executed under the compressing power of bigotry,
superstition, or the theories of infidelity ; but human nature
and Christianity have been allowed to expand themselves
to their fullest extent, and spread their more generally
approved qualities and principles over the primeval soil.
Hence common schools and colleges are endowed in perpe-
tuity, religion has been allowed its greatest latitude, suffrage
is not even limited to the white race, while agriculture,
manufactures, internal improvements, and commerce, have
no limitation nor circumscribed bounds.

But the North-west is yet only partially developed. Large
29

450 UPPER MISSISSIPPI. •

quantities of land still exists in the older States in a state of
nature, being owned by speculators ; and in the newer States
there are vast quantities of land that are yet in the hands
of government, awaiting the arrival of emigrants to occupy
it. When all this unoccupied land is converted into culti-
vated fields, it must necessarily contribute largely to the
commerce of the country.

The question is here naturally suggested, will this pros-
perity be perpetual ? Will not the North-west become
over-jealous of their rights, and reenact the southern rebel-
lion ? We reply, that no embryo element of discord and
disaffection to the Union has yet shown itself in any part of
the country. Of course its great danger will be from the
demagogues, common to all free countries, who seek to
alarm the people with imaginary dangers, for the purpose
of getting themselves elected to office. These imaginary
dangers are often the most potent to drive an honest people
into a murderous rebellion. Local jealousies are often made
the weapons of the demagogues to cajole the people to
gratify their ambitious designs. Bigotry in religion, in the
old days of superstition, was often made the foundation of
rebellion ; but the toleration allowed by the constitution of
our Union will probably preserve us from any such rebel-
lion while that instrument is suffered to stand. A general
system of education has been regarded by many as the
most plausible theory to establish a proper political conser-
vatism, but that theory has never been fully successful.
Wars will probably always continue so long as our human
depravity exists, and no protection has yet been discovered
by man, except the arm of the Almighty.

INDEX.

Agricultural productions, 447-448.
Algonquin Confederacy, 42-43.
Allouez, Rev. Claude, 123-125, 131, 344.
Akansea; see Quapaws, 201.
Assiniboins, 59, 224.

B.

Braddock's defeat, 71.

Brebeuf, Rev. John De, 116,120, 131.

Brandy War, 126-130.

Brunson, Rev. Alfred, 143, 144.

Brothertowns, 170.

C.

Canals, 430.

Completed in New York, 433.

Pennsylvania, 434.

Maryland, 434.

Ohio, 435.

Indiana, 435.

Illinois, 436.

Michigan, 436.

Wisconsin, 436.
Cayugas; see Iroquois, 159.

Catholic Missions, 114-134, 161, 163, 176, 198, 203, 208, 290, 312.
Religious bigotry and persecutions, 114.
First mission in Canada, 115.
First mission to the Hurons, 115, 116.
Destroyed by the Iroquois war, 120.
Mission to Lake Superior, 121, 123, 124.
Mission to Wisconsin, 123, 124.
Mission to Illinois, 125, 126, 132.
List of missionaries, 131, 132.
Struggles against the sale of brandy, 126, 130.

454 INDEX.

Champlain's 150 years' war, 43-45.
Chicago, 125, 334, 429, 430.
Chippeways, 265, 290.

Missions among, 143-145, 149.
Cincinnati organized, 325.
Clarke, Colonel G. R., captures Illinois, 97.
Colorado Territory, 384.
Conclusion, 449.
Corn raised in 1849, l&59i 1864, 447.

D.

Dakotas, 224-264.

Dakotas attacked by the Christinaux, 52.

War with Sacs and Foxes, 56.

War with the Chippeways, 59.

Bands of, in 1867, 226.
Dakota Territory, 384-386.
De Carry, chiefs, 81, 82, 189.
Delawares, 159, 166-169.

War against the Iroquois, 49, 50.

Made squaws by treaty, 50.

Massacre of Christians, 137, 138.
Detroit, 338.
Dickson, Colonel Robert, British Agent, 107.

Captures Mackinaw, 107

Arms North-western Indians under Black Hawk, 108.

Defeats Major Holmes at Mackinaw, in.

Sends expedition to Prairie Du Chien, in.
Dieskaw, Baron De, 72.

E.

Education and schools.

Ohio, 325.

Indiana, 328.

Illinois, 334.

Michigan, 339.

Wisconsin, 362-365.

Missouri, 370, 371.

Iowa, 372.

Minnesota, 377, 378.

Kansas, 381.

Nebraska, 382.

English attack St. Louis, 368, 369.
Eries, or Kah-kwah, exterminated, 46-49.

F.

Flint Bluffs, 24.
Floods of the Mississippi, 392.
Floods of the Ohio river, 397, 398.
Foxes : see Sacs and Foxes, 291-306.

INDEX. 455

Fort Chartres, 90, 97, 332, 333.

Fort William Henry Massacre, 76.

French traders, 82.

French and Indian war with English, 68, 79.

Change of policy with Indians, 68.

Defeat of General Braddock, 71.

Defeat of Baron De Dieskaw, 72.

War declared against England, 73.

Montcalm captures Fort William Henry, 74, 76.

Fort Niagara captured by English, 78, 79

Canada surrendered to English, 79.

Disasters of the war to the French, 81, 82.

English alliance with Indians, 79, 80.

G.

Galena and Minnesota Packet Company, 403.

Galesville, 14, 34.

Green Bay, 67, 341, 345~353> 354-

H.

Hennepin, Rev. Father, 224.

Henry Clay, first steamer on Lake Michigan, 429.

Hurons, 159, 164-166.

I.

Illinois, 330-337-

Illinois Confederacy, 172.

Indian Confederacies by languages, 42.

Indian warfare, 112, 113.

Indian tribes in 1866, 315-318.

Indiana, 327-330.

Iowa, 372-373.

lowas, 199-201.

Iroquois, 159-164.

War with the French commenced, 43-45.

War against the Hurons, 44-46.

War against the Eries, or Kah-kwah, 46.

War against the Illinois, 49, 53, 54.

War against the Delawares and Mohegans, 49-50.

War continued againt the French, 50, 55, 56.

Treachery of the French, 55.

Massacre of French at La "Chine, 56.

Treaty of peace in 1700, 57.

Service in French war, 72, 78.

Services in the Revolution, 93-98.

456 INDEX.

Jogues, Rev. Isaac, 119, 120.
Johnson, Sir William, 79.

Made Indian Agent by English, 79.

Remonstrates against abuse of Indians, 80.

Defeats Baron De Dieskaw, 72.

Captures Fort Niagara, 78.

Makes peace with Pontiac, 88-90.

Complains of the pioneers, 91.

Died in 1774, 93.
Johnson, Guy, appointed Indian Agent, 93.

Arms the Indians against the Americans, 94.

Plans the Wyoming massacre, 96.

His " petite guerre " warfare, 98.

Defeated by General Sullivan, 97.
Jollyet, 124.

K.

Kansas State, 378, 381.

Kansas, 182, 212-217.

Kaokias, 172, 173.

Kaskaskias, 172, 173, 174.

Kaws : see Kansas, 212.

Kickapoos, 172, 175, 176, 177.

Kieft's, Governor, massacre of Indians, 170.

King Phillips' war, 170.

L.

La Salle, 126, 424.

Lakes, Great, and their navigation, 415.

Physical character, 415.

Commerce of the lakes, 416, 421.

First sail vessel, the " Griffin," 423.

Steam navigation, 426.
La Crosse, 15.

Lappam, LL.D., Increase A., 15.
La Point, 345.

Langlade, Lieutenant Charles De, 82, 97.
Lead discoveries, 356, 357.
Lenapees : see Delawares, 166.
Little Turtle's Confederacy, 98.

A scheme of the British, 98.

They defeat General St. Clair, 99.

Are defeated by General Wayne, 101.

Conclude a peace with United States, 102, 105.
Logan's revenge and speech, 92, 93.

IXVEX. 45'

Mackinaw Island, 46, 124. 337, 421.

Mandans. 182, 2^1-2^3.

Marquette, James. 123-125, 131.

Mascotens. 172. 175. 176.

Marietta settled. ^2>.

Menard, Rev. Rene, 121. 1:2, 165. 343.

Methodists, 139,

Menflfniinies, 182. 194 — 199. 171.

Miamies, 172. 175, 176. 177.

Michigamias. 172. 173.

Michigan, 337-340.

Milwaukee. 359, 361.

Milwaukee wheat shipments. 432.

Minnesota. 373-378.

Missourias, 182, 209-21:.

Missions. 114. 135.

Missouri. 367-371.

Missouri Compromise, 370, 380.

Mississippi and its navigation, 388.

First discovery of the river. 388-391.

Origin of its name. 391.

Physical character, 392-394.

Floods of the river. 394-396.

Ohio river, 396-398.

Missouri river. 398-399.

Navigation of the river, 399. 400.

Steam navigation, 400-408.

Mississippi valley. 409-411.

Navigation ot" the river free, 411, 413.

Navigation to be improved, 413. 414.
Missions to Indians. 114.
Mohawks: see Iroquois. 159.

Mohegans. 150. 169-171.
Morand. Captain, 66, 67.
Montana Territory, 386-387.
Mound-Builders, 11-40.

Extent ot" Territory. 12.

Intellectual capacity, 13.

Population and extent of works, 14-18.

Agriculture and Commerce. 17-20.

Manufactures and Science, 21-24.

Religion. 21-31.

Effigies of animals. 31-35.

Speculations of Dr. Morton, 36.

Traditions of Indians. 37.

Concluding speculations, 39-40.
Munsees, 171.
Musquakies: see Sacs and Foxes, 291.

29*

458

N.

Nadouessioux : see Dakota, 224.

Nebraska, 381-383.

Newspapers in States, 326, 330, 337, 340, 365. 366, 371. 372, 378, 381.

Niagara captured, 78, 79.

Nicolet, Sieur Jean, 182, 184. 389.

Nicolet and Fremont, 392, 398.

Noquets, 194.

Nomenee packet. 404.

N'orth-western Packet Company, 405.

North-western Union Packet Company, 407.

O.

O-chunk-o-raws : see Winnebagoes, 182.

Ohio, 319-327.

Ojibway Confederacy, 265-290.

Omahas, 182, 217-219.

Ongwe-honwe : see Iroquois. 159.

Oneidas : see Iroquois, 159, 162.

Onondagas : see Iroquois, 159.

Osages, 182, 203-208.

Ottoes, 182, 209-212.

Outagamies : see Sacs and Foxes, 291.

P.

Peorias, 172, 173, 174.

Pequod war, 170.

Pontiac war, 85-90.

Pontiac assassinated, 90.

Poncas, 182, 219-221.

Population of Indian Tribes in 1866, 315-318.

Population of States, 325, 329, 333, 340," 362, 371, 372, 377. 387. 329.

Potowatomies, 306-314.

Prairie Du Chien, in, 20, 346-352.

Propeller " Hercules " built. 429

Propellers in Milwaukee lines, 431, 432.

Protestant missions, 135-158.

Eliot, of Massachusetts, 135.

Brainard, 136.

Moravian, 136-138.

Methodist, 139-149, 162, 163, 171, 180, 288. 306.

Friends, 180, 216.

American Board, 149-151, 163. 253. 263, 289.

Presbyterian Board, 151, 211. 218.

Cumberland Presbyterian, 151.

American Baptist, 152. 153. 163, 169. 178. 313.

Protestant Episcopal. 153. 263.

American M. Association, 153.

Struggles against whisky-sellers, 154-158.

INDEX. 459

0,

Quapaws, 201-203.

R.

Railroads, 436.

Land grants to, by Congress, 436-441.

Pacific Railroad, survey of, 441-442.

Union Pacific Railroad Company organized, 442, 443.

Northern Pacific Railroad Company chartered, 443-444.

Miles completed in North-west, 444.

S.

Sacs and Foxes, 291-306.

War against the Sioux, 56.

Massacre by the P>ench at Detroit, 57-63.

Make peace with the Sioux, 59.

War against the Chippeways, 59.

War of the French against, 63-67.
Saulteurs : see Ojibways, 265.
Senecas : see Iroqtiois, 159, 166.
Shawnees, 178, 179, 180.

Attacked by the Iroquois, 49.

Settle near the Iroquois, 168.
Shipping on the lakes in 1858, 1860, 1862, 430.
Shipping built in 1864, 431.
Shipping of Milwaukee in 1862, 1863, 432.
Sioux: see Dakota, 224-264.
Sioux massacre, 245-260.
Steamers on upper lakes to 1843, 427-
St. Clair, General Arthur, 99-101.
St. Louis settled. 368.

St. Regis, 161.
St. Tammany, 167.
Stockbridges, 170.
St. Paul, 373, 374, 408.

T.

Tamarois, 172.

Tecumseh and the Prophet, 106.

Make a new religion, 106.

Are defeated at Tippecanoe, 106, 107.

Tecumseh killed, 108.

Indians sue for peace, 108.
Telegraph, 445, 446.
Tonnage of the upper lakes, 429.
Tuscaroras, 159, 160.

460 IXDEX.

w.

Walk-in-the-Water, first steamer on lake, 427.

Wa-saw-sees : see Osages, 203^

Wheat, amount raised in i8491i864. 447.

Whisky war, 154. 158.

Williams, Rev. Eleazer, 162.

Winnebagoes, 182-193.

Wisconsin, 341-366.

Wyandots : see Hurons, 164-166.

Wyoming massacre, 96.

r

m !"^fi

* «

3 §
e> n

«= CJ

i ?

3 S

&? TJ

FDfi^_

University of California

SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY

305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 • Box 951388

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388

Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed.

SEP 2 3

SRLF
2 WEEK LOAN

M-UBW

JUhi

°uRR BRARY FACILITY

5 2

AA 001 157943 o
Atttumvuu/^ _„

— & a?

T O

5JAE-UNIVERS/A